


Set in Stone (Counterbalance)

by The_Falcon



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Badass Rey, Ben Solo Angst, Dark Side Rey, Eventual Romance, F/M, Kylo Ren Angst, Kylo Ren Redemption, Light & Dark Side Struggle, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, star-crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 03:02:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 40,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6266923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Falcon/pseuds/The_Falcon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Kylo Ren stood up and began to close the distance between them. </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>"There's a part of you that finds the Dark Side too enticing to resist," he said, approaching her with deliberate slowness. "You try your best to hide it, but I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me." He flashed the faintest of smiles, his dark eyes pinning her in place. It wasn't a mind trick, she realized, but for some odd reason she found herself unable to move, frozen on the spot until he was just an arm's length away. "As much as you try to fight it, the attraction keeps getting stronger…" He was now towering over her, his voice barely over a whisper. "I warned you, Scavenger."</i>
</p>
<p><i>She had no choice but to hold his stare, now so close she could almost see her own reflection in his eyes.</i><br/> <br/><i>"About what?" she asked, refusing to feel intimidated.</i></p>
<p>
  <i>"You should try harder to hate me."</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Touchdown

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted on another fanfiction site, but somebody suggested I published here as well. So, after taking into account all the great feedback and comments I received over at the other site, I have revamped it, re-written a couple of chapters, and now I’m uploading the new and improved version here. 
> 
> I hope AO3 readers like it as well.

_A long time ago in a galaxy far away..._

_After the demise of the Starkiller Base, the First Order has regrouped in a distant sector of the galaxy. Hoping to strengthen their position, Supreme Leader Snoke has made sure Kylo Ren completed his training in the Dark Side of the Force. On an island in Ahch-To, a remote water planet, Rey has begun her own Jedi training as Luke Skywalker's padawan. Traveling back from an official visit to Resistance's headquarters in D'Qar, Rey's craft, the Millenium Falcon, was intercepted by a First Order recognizance ship. When Resistance pilots detected the enemy intrusion inside a protected quadrant, they didn't hesitate to shoot it down, forcing a handful of its passengers to escape in a short range shuttle. Unaware of who was aboard the ill-fated ship, the Resistance deemed their mission a success..._  
________________________________________

There was nothing in sight but thick darkness. A pool of unsettling black that engulfed the cold and eerie surroundings. No sun could be discerned in the barren sky. There was no concept of space or time or anything remotely grounding from which to find a shred of solace. Only the frigid temperature of the rim, far from any star that might lend its warmth, its light, its vague familiarity…

Rey blinked several times in a futile attempt to see past the impenetrable curtain of night as fractured memories sliced through her mind, disjointed snapshots, piercing shards of imagery that made no sense.

_Dawn on D'Qar, a First Order transporter, Resistance fighters in close pursuit…_

Awareness descended upon her like a cloak, draped around her muddled mind with unsettling slowness. The first thing she noticed was the sharp pain in her right knee, the sticky moistness around it, and the coppery scent of her own blood. The second thing she noticed was the uncontrollable shivering that had taken over her body, the dull ache that accompanied it, how difficult it was getting air into her lungs. She made a conscious effort not to moan, willing herself to become invisible, not that darkness wasn't doing a fantastic job at concealing her whereabouts.

Gaining control of her own breathing, Rey grew a bit more aware. It was only after she had regained consciousness of her physical self that she felt it. At first, it was just a faint rumbling somewhere deep within her, as ethereal as the morning mist in Ahch-To. A dreamlike sensation that soon began taking form, becoming stronger, unmistakable, terrifying... Yes, she had felt it before. Several months ago. The day in which a bizarre twist of fate had altered the course of her mundane existence in Jakku, and had sent her life on a wild, forever changing spin. Rey swallowed hard, realizing that what she was sensing at that precise moment was the unmistakable icy fire of his presence.

_Kylo Ren._

She could tell he was close, a few short paces away, just as aware of her as she was of him, perhaps more. Her best bet was to remain motionless, pretend to sleep, void her mind of any thought or sentiment.

_Fear, rage, despair… Free yourself from all emotional burdens and open your mind to the Force._

Master Luke's words flowed through her, infusing her with the serenity she was so desperately seeking. Rey closed her eyes and tried her best to keep the clutches of fear at bay.

"I know you're awake."

His voice broke the still silence—rich and smooth and free from the distortion of the ominous mask. It sent a shiver up Rey's spine that had nothing to do with the freezing temperature that was slowly consuming her. She drew her knees closer to her chest in a silly attempt to become smaller, only to make her leg protest in excruciating pain. Jaw clenched, she bit back a scream and turned her focus to him instead. She had managed to sneak her way into his mind once. She was sure she could do it again, so she took the plunge in a desperate attempt at self-defense. 

Just like last time, she encountered the cloud of thick, red fog. And, just like last time, she glided around it trying to find a way in. It was proving to be more difficult now despite her Jedi training. The jumble of raw emotions that had made it possible for her to gain access to his psyche during her captivity had vanished, fortified by a dense cloud as thick and impenetrable as a fortress. It had been light what had pulled her into Ren's thoughts back then—a light that he had failed to dowse when they first met. That light had been extinguished, replaced by a deep vacuum of incandescent red and opaque black. A powerful wave of crimson pushed back, thwarting her effort and depleting her strength in one dominant swoop. Overwhelmed by the intensity of his retaliation, Rey was left gasping. Nausea rose from her stomach, rolled up to her throat, but she trampled it down, refusing to give into it.

_Calm down... Breathe…_

Panic snatched a hold of her when she felt a gloved hand clasping her injured leg. A tight whimper escaped her throat, and she tried to scurry away from his touch only to realize that she could not move, she couldn't even blink. Her eyes had gotten used to the dimness just enough to recognize his shadowed form kneeling beside her, his free hand hovering closely over the wound. Searing pain exploded around the tender flesh a second later, a deep burning that would have made her cry out had she been capable of uttering a single sound. Her eyes began to water, a single tear rolling down her cheek in slow motion, her gaze steadfast on the menacing shadow looming over her. Then, gradually, the pain began to fade into a dull ache, and the agony she'd just experienced just seconds before became an intangible memory.

Ren stood up, his tall frame stretching high above her, and she felt the weight of his spell lift off her body in an instant. She tentatively sat up, surprised to experience perfect mobility on her right leg. Using her fingertips, she lightly brushed the tender flesh where the wound had been seeping ever since she'd woken up in that desolate place. It had somehow been cauterized, and all that was left was a palpable ridge on the skin in the form of a fresh scar—one branding that spot as a reminder of that frightful moment of impotence.

"What is this place?" she ventured to ask.

"Savoy canyon," he answered dryly.

"Yavin's moon?" Looking past him and over the dim landscape that surrounded them, she tried to puzzle through the possible reason why he might have picked that particular place. “Why did you bring me here?"

He was looking down at her and, though Rey could not make out the expression on his face, she sensed his reluctance to engage in conversation. She was a little surprised when he finally spoke with that perfect diction that had almost hypnotized her during their first encounter. 

"Our ship was hit by the Resistance. Apparently your friends were not aware of our precious cargo."

At that, all the gaps in her memory were filled and sealed at once. She had been captured by the First Order, was on her way to be brought before their supreme leader, when the fight broke out. The ship that transported her had been hit by the Resistance, downed in this forsaken moon on the outer rim.

"Where is the rest of the crew?"

He walked a couple steps away from where she still sat on the ground before saying, "A true Jedi would know the answer to that."

"They're dead," she answered.

It had been a wild guess. She couldn't feel any other life form in their proximity but, then again, Ren's presence was so overpowering it might have clouded her perception.

"My leg…" she said through clenched teeth. “The injury made me more manageable. Why did you do it?"

"Don't read too much into it," he said impassively. "I need to deliver you to my superior alive. You are of no use to me if you bleed to death."

Rey understood his pragmatic reasoning, and was in a way glad not to owe him any courtesies. Feeling a trickle of cold sweat down her temple, she struggled to stand up, using the wall of the canyon for leverage and making sure her recently injured knee was able to support her full weight. To her surprise, her leg was perfectly steady and free of any residual pain. Satisfied, she patted the belt around her waist, only to find its holster empty. Luke's lightsaber. It was gone.

"You won't need it here," she heard him say.

Fury bubbled like hot lava inside her chest, sharply awoken by the thought of him wielding that weapon.

"Give it back," she hissed.

Rey sensed an evil smile curling his lips and her rage grew deeper. She felt the exquisite pull of the Dark Side, so enticing, so real, the temptation luring her to the edge of the cliff. Kylo Ren approached her slowly, like a predator would stalk a dying prey, until they were just mere inches apart.

"Can you feel its power?" he whispered.

"I will never give into it," she assured him, trembling with unadulterated anger.

A gloved hand brushed her cheek. Disgusted and terrified in equal measure, Rey quickly turned her head away from his touch. She could feel his warm breath near her ear when he said, "Trust me, you will." The tone in his voice made the hairs in the back of her neck stand on end. Fists pressed firmly against his chest, she gave him a harsh shove that only managed to send her stumbling a few steps back while he remained bolted to the ground, unmoving.

"Don't get near me again, or I swear I'll—"

"Sshhhh!"

Rey was hushed by his rude request, noticing how his stance had gone from imposing to alert.

"Did you sense that?" he asked quietly.

She was about to respond when she heard, more than felt, a faint rustling emerge from the shadows. An oblong sound sparked Ren's saber afire, its red glow illuminating the space around them. And, for the first time since their encounter in the snow, Rey was able to see Kylo Ren's face. His skin was as pale as she remembered, his wavy dark hair in such stark contrast to it the loose strands across his forehead appeared impossibly black. A visible scar, stemming above his left eyebrow and crossing down to his right cheek and jawline, marked his otherwise oddly attractive features. It was a grotesque reminder of their last duel. But it was his eyes what made her soul shudder. They had grown darker, more menacing. Not a trace of light in them. If there was one thing that had haunted her dreams these past few months had been the passion in those same eyes when he had offered himself as her mentor. Foolishly, she had briefly wondered if she might succeed where Han had failed. Her heart ached for the loss of the only father figure she had ever known, and her hatred towards the man who killed him in cold blood intensified tenfold.

_Control…_

Rey let out a long exhale and reeled back her anger, the pull of the Dark Side weakening with every breath.

Another sound, this time an impossible to ignore thumping, kept getting closer from the far end of the canyon.

"Get behind me," ordered Ren.

"Give me back my saber," she countered.

Kylo Ren's grip tightened on the hilt of his own lightsaber. "I don't think so. Now, do as I say and get behind me!"

"If whatever is out there takes you out then I won't stand a chance!" she reasoned. "Please, just—"

Rey didn't get a chance to finish her plea. Ren's saber swung around her as a thundering roar echoed through the gargantuan chasm of the canyon and a massive beast charged them. Acting on instinct, Rey pressed her back against the cold stone wall. Her eyes were trained on the gruesome scene unfolding before her. Watching the flashes of red slashing through the darkness, she couldn't make up her mind as to which of the two monsters she would rather see come out victorious.

**[TBC…]**


	2. Dire Straits

Dancing beams of bright red. That was all Rey could make out as she slid along the coarse wall away from where Kylo Ren fought viciously against the gigantic creature that had materialized out of the darkness. Deep moans filled the cavernous space every time Ren's lightsaber pierced through its harsh skin, reptilian in texture and slickness. With a wide swipe of the blade he managed to sever off one of its upper limbs, causing the beast to shriek in anger and pain.

Rey felt her way past a rocky protrusion on the wall of the canyon, her hands and her fingertips nervously probing the rough surface in search of some place to hide or, at the very least, something she might be able to use as a weapon. Rattled by the constant grunting and growling from which she attempted to escape, she rushed down the gorge, eventually tripping over a mass on the ground that caused her to almost lose her footing. It took her a second to realize it was a storm trooper, one of the fatalities from their unfortunate crash. She quickly searched the body for the weapon she assumed the guard must have carried, and was relieved to find a blaster just a few feet away from where the dead trooper lay. She didn’t hesitate to take it and run back to the spot where Kylo Ren kept struggling to subdue the resilient beast. Rey squinted into the red tinted dimness, barely able to outline the silhouettes of the two figures engaged in battle, and took aim at the giant’s head. Her finger pulled firmly on the trigger and the blaster spat a bright, whitish spear powerful enough to momentarily light up their surroundings, but the animal shifted at the last minute and the blast missed its intended target. Once again she fired the weapon, this time hitting it square on the neck. Stunned, the massive monster turned to her, its intention to attack. The fleeting distraction gave Ren less than a second to push his lightsaber right through its heart. With a deafening screech, the creature opened its menacing jaws, losing momentum on its downward strike, only to collapse to the ground with a loud thud a second later.

Dead.

Rey wasted no time. Without a trace of uncertainty, she raised the blaster once again and took aim at Kylo Ren. Panting from the recent exertion, lightsaber still fired up and glowing a menacing red, her nemesis merely grinned.

"You wish to kill me, Scavenger. I can feel your anger," he said hoarsely. "Now is your chance."

She didn't answer. The burning desire to avenge Han's death and pay him back for what he did to Finn was overwhelming. It would be so easy. All she had to do was…

"Pull the trigger," he dared. With a reptilian smile, he added, "We both know how much you want to."

He stepped closer, offering her a better target, openly _provoking_ her. She knew his gesture was intended as bait, could already feel the all familiar pull stirring within her, so powerful, so unbelievably tempting.

"Don't fight it," Ren challenged, inching closer. He looked mean and menacing, his damp hair sticking to his forehead in disarray, his eyes dark under the fiery glow of his saber. "Give into it, Scavenger. Allow the dark power flow through you. Let it take over…"

Rey's finger tightened on the trigger.

_God, how she hates him!_

Kylo Ren kept walking towards her, undeterred. "The memory of Han Solo haunts you." His voice was deceivably gentle, reminiscent of the tone he had used on that cold interrogation room not that long ago. "You should've seen the look on his face when my blade sliced through his heart. His eyes…" he hissed darkly. "So full of shock, so full of… _pain_."

Before she even realized what she had done, Rey had pulled the trigger three times. And, three times, Ren had deflected the blasts with his saber. She felt the wild rush of excitement and satisfaction coursing through him, saw his smile broaden under the reddish glow.

Horrified by her own actions and how easily she had given into the anger and the hatred, Rey threw the blaster as far away as she could and let out a scream of frustration.

_Please, Master Luke, show me the way to the Force. Don't let me succumb to the Dark Side. Please…_

"You assume he cares about your inner conflict," Ren told her as he got even closer.

By the time Rey realized what was happening it was already too late—he had entered her mind. The impulsiveness of her emotions had given him access. She tried to fight it, to close up to him, but for some reason her resolve was traveling fast down the slope of surrender.

_Why is it so difficult to tap into the Force? Is it Ren? Is it the canyon?_

Rey continued to back away from him until her back hit the wall, and then she was trapped. She watched as he lifted the hand that still held the saber, heard the crackling of its unstable blade above her head as its glimmer lit the area around them. The imposing figure of Kylo Ren stood before her, dwarfing her, encasing her between his tall frame and the jagged wall.

"You are so naïve," he spoke intimately, his face just inches away from her own. There was something hypnotizing about his voice, terrifying and alluring at the same time. It made her heart jump with fear, with something else she couldn't quite identify, much less explain. His dark eyes bore into hers, pinning her to the spot with a power that had nothing to do with the Force.

"Step away from me," she warned with as much fury as she could muster.

He wandered easily inside her head, invading her memories, her thoughts, her feelings... Oddly, his intrusion wasn't as invasive as the last time he'd attained entry. She sensed a twinge of curiosity in his trek as he sailed through the images her mind was unable to conceal.

_The vastness of the ocean, Ahch-To, the mystic island, Master Luke…_

He dove yet deeper, his probe gentle but intense. Rey held his unwavering stare, unmoving, unable or unwilling to fight him, she wasn't quite sure.

_The comforting structure of D'Qar, a sunset at the base, a convoy of droids, a group of pilots, Finn…_

Ren swam across the expanse of her consciousness with minimal effort, and for some strange reason she was giving him access, allowing the incursion without so much as a fight.

_The Millenium Falcon, Chewbacca, General Leia Organa…_

In an instant Kylo Ren pulled back. Rey could no longer feel his presence inside her. She might have imagined the slight shift in her captor's expression as he exited her mind, the spark of light that had flashed across his eyes, the slight clenching of his jaw...  
Looking at him now, she was sure she had imagined it. His scowl had deepened and he was now glaring at her with open scorn.

"You had _everything_ ," she quietly accused trying hard to hold back tears. "A family, a home, a mentor… Why did you do it? How could you?"

"You know nothing!" he snarled.

"I know you allowed Ben Solo to turn into a monster!"

A crooked smile gradually formed on Ren's face and she was rattled by the faint, unmistakable shadow of Han Solo shining through him. "A moment ago you didn't think of me as a monster."

Rey blushed, her pulse quickening. Unable to withstand his physical proximity any longer, she pushed him away, practically extricating herself from the tight space between the wall and his much larger frame.

"We need to find a way to get out of here," she said, trying hard to ignore the biting chill of the moon's atmosphere, and how his body had been shielding her from it for the past several moments. "How did we get to the canyon after the transporter got hit?"

"Short range shuttle," Ren replied evenly. "It got nearly destroyed upon landing. We managed to eject before it hit the ground."

Rey could not remember the crash at all. Had Ren made sure she ejected safely? Probably. Like he said before, she was only worth anything to him as long as she was alive. That, at the very least, bought her some time. "Where is it?"

Ren pointed his lightsaber towards the cavernous darkness and made a curt gesture prompting her to follow.

They walked past the dead storm trooper and encountered his partner's inert body just a few yards from the shuttle. The small craft rose up in a heap of metal a short distance down the narrow stretch of canyon. It would have been visible to the eye all along, had there been a bit more light along their path. It was an easy climb to the top of the shuttle where the entrance to the cockpit was located. The latch that lifted the tempered-glass chamber was unfastened, and Rey found her way into the pilot’s seat under the glow of Ren's saber, where she began fiddling with a series of buttons and switches. Standing on the metal casing of the ship, Kylo Ren watched from above, following her every move through the concave window that encased the small space, enough for just four passengers. 

The shuttle appeared to be as dead as the two troopers sprawled at the foot of the canyon.

"You've worked on other models similar to this one," Ren spoke with certainty. He had probably seen a glimpse of it during the exploration of her mind, which made her frown with unease. The scrapyard on Jakku was plagued with a fleet of old shuttles similar to the one where she currently sat. She knew them intricately, had pulled them apart piece by piece in exchange for a few portions a week. 

"I trust you'll be able to fix it," he presumed.

"In other words, you expect me to perform a miracle," she sneered without bothering to hide her disdain. But, the truth was, their situation was indeed dire.

Rey pulled on a lever and a beam of light shone straight out from under the ship's lower casing, illuminating a section of the canyon. Her face broke into a small, triumphant grin. At least the electrical system was working. The problem had to be mechanical.

"I'm surprised you don't know much about aircraft mechanics," she commented while testing the ignition switches. "The Falcon alone is a remarkable piece of inventive engineering." Ren didn't say anything. She wondered if he was even listening to her rambling, so she continued talking, if anything else, to keep the unnerving silence that rose between them from driving her crazy. "The ship has grown on me, actually. It has personality. Plus, I've managed to maximize its performance without the need to upgrade its original circuits. When the Resistance finds it they'll come looking for me." Her optimism was what had kept her going on Jakku, and she would lean on it for as long as it took for her to get off that frigid rock. "Didn't you ever work on it as a child with your father?"

Rey thought he was going to ignore her question altogether, when he finally said. "You are making a lot of assumptions about Ben Solo's childhood. There is a lot you don't know."

"I know Han loved you and you betrayed him," she said tightly, taking her anger on the knobs that regulated the side thrusters.

There was a noticeable shift in his mood. She felt it—an intense shade of red seeping through the blackness of his soul, a powerful surge of an indefinable emotion, strong and overpowering. Rey didn't quite know how to interpret it, but it scared her. It scared her to the core.

"How serious is the damage?" he demanded, his voice as dark as their surroundings.

"It is probably the catalyzer," she informed trying her best to keep her voice steady. Her trembling fingers ran over the status display, keeping them busy was her only distraction from the torturous grasp of her perception. "If that's the case, we're in trouble. It's not the easiest of things to fix, but I'll try…"

"Try?" Ren scoffed derisively. "Either do it, or don't do it."

Rey's fear turned into anger. "Oh, do the almighty Knights of Ren find everything so simple? Is life so black and white, do or die in their dark little world?"

She half expected her teasing to anger him, but instead he seemed… _amused_? No. Exhaustion and stress had probably diminished her ability to accurately perceive other people's emotions, and yet, the feeling that lingered around her was a mixture of puzzlement and gratifying incredulity, though she couldn't think of one precise word to describe it.

"You do realize that even if I manage to repair it, this thing won't be able to fly us off this rock," she sighed.

"We just need to make it to the top of the canyon," Ren said. "Once out there, we can send out a beacon."

She turned her body to look up at him. His lightsaber had been long extinguished, and all she could make out was the outline of his shadow, a bit more defined as he stood just outside the frame of illumination provided by the ship.  
Then, she was struck by an idea.

"You can do it," she blurted out. "You can use the Force to lift the shuttle to the top of the canyon. Once there, I'll send out the beacon."

"That is not an option," he replied at once.

"It's our only chance!"

"I don't trust you."

Rey couldn't really blame him. Once at the top, she would find a way to get as far away from him as humanly possible. Run first, think later.

"I can't do it myself," she reasoned. "My training has not been completed. I went as far as getting a decent sized rock to levitate a few feet off the ground, but an entire ship? I… I'm not ready yet."

Observing her from above, Kylo Ren considered her words for a moment. What he said next, actually surprised her.

"I will train you."

**[TBC…]**


	3. The Pond

A tepid dawn gradually turned into a scorching day. Fortunately, the moon's limited its exposure to the massive twin suns of the Onderon system made days considerably shorter than its freezing nights, which were twice as long due to its inclination and elliptical path on its orbit around Yavin. But, at least it had given them enough time to set up camp around the fallen shuttle and get acquainted with their surroundings before another lengthy stretch of pitch blackness.

They found just over two and a half portions of food in the ship's supply compartment. With any luck, that might feed them for three to four days at the most. Of course, there was also a massive dead Krayt Dragon a few yards from their ship, though Rey found the idea of eating such a disgusting looking creature downright repulsive. In the end, however, it was all inconsequential should they fail to find an adequate source of water. Each of their canteens was already three quarters drained, and in the dry heat of the canyon they were bound to dehydrate in just a couple of days, especially if they were to engage in intense training.

_Learning the ways of the Force under the tutelage of a Dark Knight…_

Rey hadn't been able to stop thinking about Kylo Ren's request for the past couple of hours. She hadn't given him an answer yet, not that there were a wide variety of options if they wanted to make it out of that canyon alive. She was well aware of how dangerous it would be to follow his instruction, how close to the edge of the Dark Side she'd be treading, but the more she thought about the alternative, the grimmer the outcome appeared to be.

The pressing need for water superseded anything else, so they had taken off at the crack of dawn and decided to head east. The place was so quiet and desolate the crunching of their boots over the gravel echoed loudly all around them. The canyon appeared to be an endless stretch of void of life. Its path of reddish stone would become wider at times and then narrow to the point where they could only walk single file for a long section, only to widen up again in a monotonous pattern that seemed to have no end in sight. The sweltering heat weighed down heavily on them, made the air thick and heavy to breathe. Ren hadn't said more than two words since they started their journey. In fact, it had been Rey who had done most of the mindless talking, wondering about the chances of finding somebody else on that moon, how far they ought to wander out before heading back to camp, and the need to give the two dead storm troopers a proper burial. He had ignored her ramblings for the most part, leading the way without so much as a nod of acknowledgement. Rey had eventually gotten tired of her words falling on deaf ears and had just followed his lead in resigned silence.

As the day progressed, the heat became unbearable. Kylo Ren peeled off every dark piece of clothing from the waist up, hanging them from the holster below his sash, along with the now empty canteen, and two lightsabers: his own and Luke's. Rey kept stealing occasional glances in its direction, determined to find a way to take it from him. And, sooner or later, she would succeed. It was just a matter of finding the right moment.

She followed Ren along a rocky formation, careful not to lose her footing once the surface became smooth and slippery. Mildly enthralled by his perfectly toned upper body, she caught herself admiring his broad shoulders, the tautness of the skin over his flexing muscles, his lean frame, and felt more than a little ashamed to find beauty in his naked torso.

_No, she thought sourly. He is the opposite of beautiful. He is perverse—a sadistic murderer! There is nothing remotely beautiful about him._

With a deep frown, Rey expelled such thoughts from her mind before he could pick up on them. She focused instead on her Jedi training and all she had learned during her brief stay in Ahch-To. Then, her thoughts travelled to General Organa—perhaps she had already sensed that Rey hadn't perished in the crash and had sent a rescue team searching for her, although that was rather unlikely, since nobody really knew she was aboard the ship… 

Rey had been so absorbed by her inner dialogue, so wrapped up in her own musings, she all but gasped when the canyon opened into a clearing to reveal the gorgeous landscape before her.

It was a pond!

A vast body of water reflecting the pinkish shade of the moon's sky lay before her, surrounded by colorful bushes and short trees. There was a steady stream of water trickling down one of its walls, most likely from an underground river hidden somewhere beyond the canyon. Unable to believe her eyes, Rey froze for a second, taking in the scene until the heat and her thirst made her lunge fully clothed into the serenity of the small lake. Kylo Ren unclasped his holster and dropped it on the ground, following her into the freezing water a moment later. They both dove completely under the stillness of the pond, welcoming the biting chill that made their tired limbs tingle almost painfully. They drank greedily from their cupped hands until their thirst was satiated, and then returned to the shore, dropping onto the warm sand, flat on their backs, less than two feet from each other.

"I was beginning to doubt we would find water on this rock," she confessed, sitting up.

Ren kept his eyes closed, hands clasped behind his head. "Water is one of the easiest elements to sense," he said, sounding bored. "You should have trusted your instincts."

_So he had been aware of the existence of this pond all along…_

Rey felt a little embarrassed for not having thought of using the Force to sense a basic element. She could have probably visualized that place, allow the latent power of nature to guide her search like Ren had probably done. Turning her head, she sent a curious glance his way and couldn't help but notice the prominent scar on his side, a smaller one on his arm, another one on his shoulder and over his collarbone... Her eyes kept travelling upward, recounting every moment that had scarred his body, having been present on almost every count, until she reached the one across his face…

"You are wondering why I haven't used genetic regeneration to erase them," he said, making her feel like a voyeur. He hadn't even opened his eyes.

"I'm sure the First Order has access to the technology," she said, trying to sound casual.

"I keep them as a reminder of debts that need to be paid."

It might have been his tone of voice, or perhaps the words themselves, what made the hairs in the back of Rey's neck stand on end. She brushed off the uncomfortable feeling, figuring that if he hadn't physically harmed her up to that point, he probably didn’t intend to do so. Still, she decided her vigilance never ought to falter around him. She brought her knees up to her chest, enjoying the ebb and flow of the subtle tide, its soothing sound. Closing her eyes, she purposely emptied her mind of any fear or negative thoughts and kept it in suspension for a long while, just like Master Luke had taught her how to.

She had completely lost track of time when the rumbling in her stomach became a nagging intrusion. She slowly opened her eyes, allowing her physical self to awaken, and realized they hadn’t eaten since the small portion they’d rationed earlier that morning. She turned to Ren and found him gradually easing out of a meditating state and into the physical realm, just as she’d done a second before. It didn't take a Jedi master to figure out he was probably just as hungry as she was.

"Look, we're in luck," Rey said glancing at a small bush to their right. "Those look just like Rasen Berries!"

Perfectly round and plump, the burgundy berries sprouted from every limb of the tiny tree. Rey made her lazy way over to it and began picking the bite-sized fruits from different branches. Ren did the same, devouring three or four at a time to slake his evidently ravenous hunger. Rey observed his movements guardedly, her lips stretching into a victorious smile. 

"These are quite special," she said with detached composure. "In fact, you will start feeling a bit light headed in a moment. Then, the numbness will start to set in your arms and legs as your heart slows down to a crawl and then finally… _stops_. But don't worry," she added soothingly. "There will be no pain. It will feel like you just went to sleep."

Kylo Ren stopped chewing and searched her eyes.

"Those berries you just ate," she continued, her expression dead serious, "happen to be poisonous."

He quickly turned his head to the side and spat the contents of his mouth. Rey watched him impassively, held his stare when he spun around to face her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes dark and dangerous. Her grin widened at his virulent reaction and then, shrugging innocently, she simply popped a few of the berries into her mouth and smirked mockingly at him. She reveled in the pleasure of having caught him off guard for once, was unable to hold back soft laughter when the joke finally dawned on him.

"You're hilarious!" he growled, unamused.

"We used to grow these in Jakku until the great drought five seasons ago," she informed, enjoying the sweet tartness that rolled over her tongue. 

She was about to tell him about the elderly merchant and his wife who used to sell them by the bushel at the food market, until she realized there was no longer a market, the couple had been brutally slaughtered, and she was sitting next to the man responsible for their demise. The affability of her earlier banter evaporated in an instant. Rey’s heart clenched, and a new wave of anger and hatred began to burn in the pit of her stomach. 

"We should take some of these and whatever else we could use for sustenance back to the shuttle," Ren said rising to his feet. Whether he had noticed the change in her mood, he didn't show.

They filled their pouches with all the fruits and berries they recognized as safe to eat, then dove into the lake once again in search for algae, or anything remotely eatable, but there seemed to be no sign of life in the pristine waters. After a thorough search near the shore that yielded no results, they simply gave up, though Rey could’ve sworn there was life inside that pond. She could feel it. And judging by Ren’s expression, so could he. Finding it pointless to dwell on the subject, they both stripped off their clothes to at least rinse the dust, sweat and grime from the garments. Rey placed hers neatly on a rock to dry, the baking heat of midday beating down hard on the extensive shore. Kylo Ren simply tossed his haphazardly on the hot sand in three different dark piles. 

The intense heat drove them to the cool waters once again, and curiosity pulled them away from the shoreline. Despite the freezing temperature of the pond, their naked skin and aching muscles welcomed the sharp contrast to the moon’s scorching surface. While Ren swam over to the wall of the canyon where water continued to bleed incessantly from a nearby rock, Rey made her way towards a tiny island that peeked out from under the depths of the lake, hoping to spend some time alone. She moved effortlessly through the water, unsure as to when she might have learned how to swim, the ability coming to her rather innately. 

She was getting close to the island when she felt something brush past her leg. Startled, she turned around, but could not see anything moving below the surface. Rey kept swimming towards the small stretch of land and, as she was about to reach it, a slick lump slithered along her ankle. It suddenly curled around her leg and pulled her down harshly. She barely had time to let out a small yelp of surprise before she found herself thrashing under the water, fighting viciously to free herself from the unyielding grasp of whatever it was that was trying to drown her. It took all her strength to propel herself upwards, managing to emerge from the depths of the lake for a brief moment, just enough to cry out once again and get some air into her lungs. Another violent yank to her ankle and Rey sank deep once again. Panic was beginning to consume her. She kept threading water, kicking with all her might, desperately trying to get away from the unyielding grasp to no avail. Her strength was depleting fast as she twisted and turned, fighting to survive, and quickly losing the battle.

Something that she faintly identified as relief struck her when she felt two arms holding her from behind, stopping her from sinking further down as they grappled to pull her up to the surface. She rotated her body and held onto those strong arms for dear life, but her limbs were beginning to weaken, her body growing lethargic. A few seconds later, there was nothing but blissful darkness.

_The island was quiet and serene, carpeted by a smoky mist that shrouded it in mystery. At the very top, a lonely man sat, meditating on a flat rock, his face hidden under the hood of his cloak. She made her approach, wordlessly asking him for guidance. But she got no answers from him, only silence._

_A soft light shone through the trees, beckoning her to the woods behind him. Slowly, she walked barefoot past the quiet man and followed the path to where the light kept getting brighter, a glowing orb with a pull impossible to resist._

_At first, she believed to have seen a shadow moving through the light, but as she got closer, the figure became more defined, perfectly recognizable._

_Rey smiled._

_A young Han Solo stood before her, a crooked smile twisting his lips. Feeling a wave of pure joy washing over her, Rey picked up the pace and began running towards him. But, no matter how fast she ran, she didn't seem to get any closer. Frustrated, she eventually stopped, her eyes locking with his, an open question lingering between them._

_Then, his deep voice rose above the quietness of the forest:_

_"Bring him back…"_

_She frowned, uncomprehending. Her lungs tightened painfully and she began to cough. She saw Han Solo fading into the glowing light._

_"No, wait!" she cried._

_Coughing uncontrollably, she tried to run after him, but light quickly turned into darkness._

_"Don't go! Please…!"_

Rey kept convulsing. Her chest was tight with the effort of expelling the water that had inevitably seeped into her lungs. She blinked tiredly several times and found a blurry figure hovering over her, his deep voice not really registering in her brain.

"Han?" she called out weakly, her mind still foggy.

Her eyes kept fluttering until the face a few inches above her own was brought into focus. Damp black hair curled around flushed cheeks and over creased brows, as two dark eyes appraised her, searching hers.

"Ben…" she whispered hoarsely.

Rey saw Ren's mildly worried expression turn cold. He rolled off her and stood up, bending down to snatch his clothes from the sand and giving them one harsh, potent shake before putting them on in a haste. He hadn't been wearing any clothes for most of the afternoon and yet, Rey pondered, she had only seen him truly naked for less than an instant.

_Had that shadow of concern been for her? For the prized prisoner he'd almost lost? Or had it simply been a figment of her imagination?_

"Get dressed!" he ordered harshly, his back to her as he clasped the holster around his waist. "The sun is already going down. We need to make it back to camp before nightfall."

Still weakened from her ordeal, Rey struggled to her feet and began to put her clothes on. Their pouches were replete with fruits and herbs, and both their canteens had been filled to the brim. The suns were already making their slow descent behind the walls of the canyon, causing the temperature to drop with every passing second.

As cold as it could get on that rock, Rey thought, it was a warm, toasty paradise in comparison to Kylo Ren's soul.

**[TBC…]**


	4. Old Scars

The hike back was marked by stark silence as they both made their way along the now windy canyon submerged in their own private thoughts. It wasn't quite dark yet, though broad strokes of orange and red painted the sky in stunning patterns that were slowly giving way to the first night stars. Rey willed her legs to keep moving, doing her best to ignore the exhaustion that was beginning to claim her. She couldn't remember the last time she slept, and very much doubted she'd be able to give into a peaceful rest any time soon.

At least, she had put the time during their return to good use by focusing on the power she drew from the Force—the flow of it around all living and inanimate objects, its pulsing rush as it coursed through her veins, the humming all around her, sizzling vibrations…

_The crackling spark that ignited every time it grazed the dark aura around Kylo Ren…_

Rey avoided clashing with his energy and welcomed the serene power of the Force in other elements, using it as a crutch to avoid succumbing to her feelings of hopelessness. One way or another, she was determined to make it out of that forsaken rock. Unfortunately, her only way out appeared to be rather dangerous, and—

She swiveled on her feet mid-thought, overtaken by a sudden stab of raw panic. Heart thumping wildly inside her chest, Rey looked over at Kylo Ren, who had also stopped on his tracks, facing in the exact same direction towards the far end of the canyon.

"I felt it too," he said, brows creased.

The wind was blowing even harder now, making it difficult to for them to keep their eyes open against the onslaught. A rumbling sound, very similar to that of a freighter ship taking off, kept getting stronger, causing the earth to vibrate beneath their feet. The fact that Ren seemed a bit anxious made Rey even more nervous, while her fight or flight instinct kept sending her brain conflicting messages. It was his stern order what finally broke the tie.

"RUN!"

She was already on the move when she saw the massive cloud of sand emerge like a titan from around the corner of the canyon. It rolled towards them at high speed, gaining ground yard after thunderous yard. They were both fast and athletic, but still no match for the approaching storm that swallowed them whole in a matter of seconds. Rey kept running, blinded by the swirl of dust and sand all around her, sensing her way around the winding path and avoiding being hit by falling rocks that came tumbling down from the top of the canyon. She didn't know exactly where Kylo Ren was, but she could sense him somewhere beside her. She also could perceive the shuttle ahead, no more than a mile away, so she kept running towards it, lungs burning from exertion and dust inhalation. Her mind kept reeling, but she fought the fear that was beginning to consume her and tried to remain focused. And just when the shuttle became partially visible through the curtain of sand, Rey sensed the enormous mass speeding down toward her from above. She cried in horror as a boulder the size of a Tie-fighter appeared on top of her, impossible to outrun.

At that same instant, a powerful tidal wave, overwhelming and invisible, rushed right through her body and left her gasping. The next thing she knew, the massive boulder was frozen in mid-air just a few inches above her head. Shaking from the eerie sensation that had ripped through her, and weakened by its intensity, Rey stood bolted to the spot. She felt light headed as her knees began to buckle, but right before collapsing, she was pulled from under the deadly rock with one quick yank of her hand, prompting her legs to respond once again.

Ren practically dragged her to the shuttle, opened the latch, and they both climbed into the shelter of its cockpit as the worst of the storm pounded the small ship. They felt it slide to the side at one point, hauled by the hurricane strong winds, only to end up lodged and secured between two huge rocks by the bed of the canyon. Drained and exhausted, Rey slumped against the chair and allowed the mounting tension to lift off her in waves, grateful to feel the fury of the sandstorm outside taming gradually. 

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up to total and complete silence some time later and unsure of where she was for a long moment. Her memory began putting the pieces of the last several hours together, delineating the picture of her ill-fated situation. She stirred on the uncomfortable seat and opened her eyes slowly, almost hoping he'd be gone, but knowing better than to expect it. Kylo Ren observed her quietly from the pilot's seat, though his presence was unobtrusive.

"Don't you ever sleep?" she asked, sitting up. Rey was feeling a tad annoyed, but was unable to pin-point exactly the reason why. Perhaps she felt vulnerable knowing that he, not for the first time, had been watching her while she slept. 

"Sometimes," he answered cryptically.

The blanket of darkness had descended upon them once again, and only the mild light from the shuttle's emergency system illuminated the small space, but it was better than nothing. She arched forward, raised her arms over her head and stretched her sore muscles. Rey felt contrived by having to share such tight quarters with him for the remainder of the night, and wondered if, now that the storm had passed, she could just step outside and sleep under the open sky, like she used to do on Jakku. Once again she turned to him, feeling the tiny shuttle shrinking by the second.

"Stop looking at me like that!" she demanded. "You're making me nervous."

Ren's eyebrow arched inquisitively. "Why would I make you nervous?"

She could have told him that the intensity of his stare brought her back to that interrogation room where she'd seen his face for the first time. She could've confessed having been equally curious and terrified when he had looked at her in a similar manner back then. She could have admitted there was something else behind it. She could have… but she didn't.

As her eyes travelled away from his and down to his arm, she noticed a tear in his sleeve and a gash on his skin, though it had long stopped bleeding.

"Your arm," she simply said, pointing out the obvious, which made her feel a tad silly.

"Just a scratch," he dismissed with a mild shrug.

"Another scar to add to your collection?" she half-teased.

His facial expression lost some of its austerity and his lips curved almost unperceptively. "Something like that," he answered.

The truth was they had been lucky to make it out of the sandstorm with 'just a scratch'. The odds of them having been crushed by the crumbling canyon walls had been overwhelming. Rey realized how close she had been from landing under the colossal weight of a falling boulder, and a deep chill crawled up her spine.

"How did you do it?" she asked with slight trepidation. "The rock," she clarified, though she didn't really need to. "I don't think I could ever..."

"You have little faith in your own abilities," he cut in. He sent her a fleeting smile, but his eyes remained as dark as a moonless night. "I'm not surprised. Your short training with Skywalker probably consisted of long periods of mindful grounding and arduously searching for inner peace. A conscious journey towards the light. Am I right?"

"You know nothing about my training," she countered, eyes defiant. Although, deep down, she was awestruck by the accuracy of his words.

Ren's smile began to fade. "I know the Force was much stronger in you before your master tamed it."

"He gave me focus, taught me to control it."

"He made you doubt yourself, your own abilities," he said, his stare burning into her. "The raw power of the Force should not be suppressed. Emotions are not only its conduit, they are its enhancer. You felt it yourself, in the woods amidst the snow—the rage, the hatred… The more I advanced on you, the stronger it grew inside you."

"A Jedi never uses the Force in hatred," she said with a bitter taste in her mouth, for she knew she had failed on that count.

"You sound just like him," he spoke quietly. "Self-righteous and condescending. Tell me, Scavenger, what has he really offered you?"

"The chance to become a true Jedi," she said with conviction.

"Is that all?" Ren let out a dry chuckle and leaned forward. "I'm handing you the key to unleash your inner power. Aren't you even curious as to how far you can take it?"

"And become a murderous tyrant like you?" she snarled. "I'd rather die!"

His eyes narrowed, they seemed to see through her as he studied her features. "You have no idea just _how powerful_ you truly are, do you? Skywalker… He never told you?" he finally said, a shadow of awe clinging to his words. "You don't even know who you are or where you come from…"

_Respect._

Until that moment, Rey hadn't been able to identify the transient feeling that kept flashing to the surface, and just as quickly disappeared into the pit of his soul.

"That day in the snow," she swallowed hard. "You were trying to bait me. Why? You could've easily killed me."

Ren nodded. "So could you."

"I wanted to," she confessed finding it hard to hold his stare at that point. "I heard this voice deep inside me… it kept _urging_ me to do it."

"I know… You _should_ have," he spoke quietly, almost reverently. "I showed you the mercy I denied my own… Han Solo. I should've paid for that transgression with my life."

"You wanted to die?"

"No. I wanted you to join me."

There was something in the timber of his voice that put a dent in Rey's defenses, which was not only foolish, but extremely dangerous. Ignoring her better judgment, she gathered the courage to summon up the skill to reach into his mind, trying to probe him once again, to better understand what his words were not expressing. It didn't take long for Ren to sense her incursion, a flare in his awareness that halted her intent.

"Are you sure you want to see inside me?" he asked darkly, his expression stone cold.

Rey was overtaken by a rush of fear and excitement. Feeling her courage slipping, she rushed to offer him a whispered 'yes' that couldn't have sounded less convincing.

"Wish granted…"

It was a mistake. Rey knew that much. She tried to backpedal at the last minute, hoping she could maintain her distance somehow. But it was too late. He clasped her wrist impeding her retreat, made her gasp in shock. A rush of panic surged through her body as she realized what was happening. That time it was _he _who pulled _her_ into his mind, harshly and completely against her will. Rey was sucked into the downward spiral, an eerie abyss. Hypnotized by his unwavering stare, she sank deeper and deeper as flashing images swirled around her, some of them would translate into thought, others into feelings, all jumbled together in a cluster of what appeared to be a series of memories and conflicting emotions.__

___A young boy reaching out for the sky… High waves beating around a vast ocean… General Leia dropping to her knees… A little girl crying in the desert… Anger, frustration, despair… No…! A tall, dark figure, firm stride… Control your fear, release your anger… Ben…! She's out there, I know it…! Only the Dark Side can save you now… Grandfather…_ _ _

__As the visions grew stronger, everything around Rey became more real- _the gut-wrenching pain, the agonizing torture of his inner struggle, the heartbreak that was literally tearing him apart._ Tears began streaming down her face as she became paralyzed, trapped inside the horrible nightmare._ _

__"No, please!" she whimpered when she felt the pull of his will dragging her deeper._ _

___The Knights of Ren rise… A savage slaughter… A river of blood branching out… I will finish what you started… A young woman… A long lost hope now the greatest of threats… Don't be scared, I feel it too… Will you help me…? You're a monster…!_ _ _

__"Stop!" she cried out._ _

__Kylo Ren pulled back from an experience that had left them both panting. Rey rubbed her tender wrist where his fingers had left a visible imprint on her pale skin. She was shivering, unable to shake off the agony that had taken residency inside her chest and that threatened to asphyxiate her._ _

__"Don't ever do that again!" she warned, eyes brimming with newly unshed tears._ _

__Jaw clenched, he sat back once again, his expression as somber as she'd ever seen it. "I overestimated you," he spat with an air of disdain. "You might not be as strong as I initially estimated."_ _

__Rey wasn't sure whether he was baiting her or felt genuinely disappointed by her reaction. The sudden bout of anxiety made it impossible for her to gauge him. In part, she was wounded by his lack of faith in her and, in a strange way, longed to prove him wrong at all cost. It was that very feeling what might seal their fate in the end. Without any further hesitation, she finally gave him the answer he had been awaiting._ _

__"I'll do it, Ren," she choked out, the words rolling bitterly over her tongue. "I'll become your apprentice."_ _

__**[TBC…]** _ _


	5. Eclipsing the Light

Not surprisingly, both sides of the Force relied on intense physical training as a means to channel the riveting energy.

At the first signs of dawn, they headed back towards the pond, finding the winding path crowded with fallen rocks and boulders from the recent sandstorm which were not only a convenient challenge to sort through, but a perfect start to their morning training. Despite the obstacle course that had been created along the path of destruction, they had made it to the small oasis in record time. And, even though it was starting to get hot, the twin suns were not yet at their highest peak, making the arduous task of racing over the fallen debris a bit more bearable. By the time they got to their destination, they were both sweating profusely and, while Rey's light, gauzy attire managed to keep her body reasonably cool, Ren had ended up peeling off his darker robe once the scorching rays began beating down hard on that side of the moon.

Rey half knelt, half collapsed by the shore, where she began to splash cool water onto her face and neck. She made a cup with her hands and took several greedy gulps, both relieved and grateful the storm hadn't completely destroyed that remote little corner of the desolate rock. She remembered how close she had been to drowning the day before, but refused to let anxiousness overtake her. Everything would be fine as long as she stayed by the beach line. So, as welcoming as the crystal water was, she wouldn't be setting foot in it today. Instead, she took a bit of time to admire the pond in all its beauty, submerged in the serene sensation of its quiet landscape. Kylo Ren walked up behind her with two long branches in the form of unevenly shaped batons. He threw one in her direction, which she caught midair, while he absently twirled the other one in his right hand without major difficulty.

"I've seen you use these. You seem very proficient with them," he said, tucking the long stick under his right arm and tilting his body sideways in a guarding position. "Now use your skill, focus on the Force, and attack me."

It was a trait of the Dark Side, Rey began to realize, to plunge right into business. But it still felt odd after several months of training with Master Luke to not, at the very least, use some quiet time to clear the mind.

"Shouldn't we—?"

Ren didn't allow her to finish the question. He charged without mercy, lowering the weapon on her with a vicious blow, which she managed to clumsily block at the last second. Her brief hesitation had put her on the defensive right away, and her adversary wasted no time to use it to his advantage. In less than five swift moves Ren had her flat on her back, his makeshift baton digging into her neck with enough force to make her wince, his boot coming to rest on her abdomen—not hard enough to hurt her, but firmly enough to immobilize her. 

He took a step back, his expression severe. "Attack first whenever you have the chance," he said looking down at her, "or you'll be forced to stay on the defensive for most of the fight. It's hard to gain the upper hand when you're trying to not get struck by your opponent."

Annoyed by the ease in which he had beaten her using her weapon of choice, Rey stood up determined to pay him back. Her fingers tightened around the wood, and this time she lunged forward without a second thought, applying everything she had learned from a young age fending off abusers and thugs looking for trouble. She lashed out, fiercely swinging the baton, frustrated with his ability to block even the most elaborate moves. At least, Rey thought, she was on the offensive now, as futile her blows appeared to be against him. She swung the baton over her head and brought it down with all her might. Ren held his over his head, using both hands to block the vicious blow. They remained in that stalemate position for several moments, their faces just inches apart, eyes locked in sheer defiance.

"Is that the best Skywalker could teach you?" he gritted, gradually gaining the advantage. "Where is the warrior I met not that long ago?"

His words angered her enough to push back, but he sidestepped her, releasing them from the prolonged strain of their connection in one agile maneuver. Not expecting his sudden move, she stumbled forward several steps, mumbling a nasty curse before turning around to face him once again.

"You're not using the Force, Scavenger," he accused. "You're a good fighter, but I can anticipate all of your moves, and that makes you an easy target."

Breathing heavily, Rey pondered on his advice for a moment. "I still can't control it enough to—"

"You don't need to control it. You just need to release it. Tap into it, use it against me! Your pain, your anger, your hatred...” he spoke quietly, the richness of his voice curling around the words. “You’ve done it before."

"The Dark Side," Rey breathed, fear swimming through her veins.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Ren said. His half smile belied the darkness within. "There are no sides to the Force. You either embrace it fully, or you spend your days meditating, hoping to be the almighty keeper of some elusive universal balance that keeps the light shining brightly. You can harness the power within, Scavenger. I'm daring you to eclipse that light."

Rey stood at the edge of the cliff, felt the urge to succumb to it, fold into its immense power. She felt the irrepressible attraction to the other side, to the shadows, to _him!_ It was downright perverse! He was the person she probably hated most in her life, the one who had caused her the greatest amount of grief, the one she so desperately wanted to kill…

"You've lost so much already," Ren said, circling around her slowly, like a snake getting ready to strike. "All those villagers in Jakku… If you had only heard them screaming..."

Rey pulled her hands into fists as she tried to erase the gruesome images that were forming inside her mind.

"Don't look at me like that," he said slyly. "It's not like I killed anybody in your family." Her tight frown prompted him to continue. "You were abandoned in that piece of crap planet, weren't you? Forgotten by people who didn't want you. You've been lying awake at night, hoping for their return for years." His words were burning a hole in her heart, cruel and agonizing. "Then, you met Han Solo and he magically became the only father figure you ever knew." There was a calmness in his voice that unnerved Rey, dragging her down to the very place she had been trying to avoid. Ren knew the effect he was having on her, and continued to rub salt in the wound. "Just be glad he wasn't around long enough to disappoint you."

"I don't think he could have ever disappointed me as much as you disappointed him," she gritted out between clenched teeth.

A quick shadow flashed over Kylo Ren's features. "You're probably right," he said evenly. "Perhaps _you_ could have filled in that void. I'm afraid we'll never find out." He came to a stop, blocking the beams of the suns that peeked just over the canyon, effectively turning into the silhouette of the monster he was portraying. "But your grief goes beyond that…"

Rey glared at him, hot rage bubbling up to the surface with every passing comment. As much as she tried not to fall into his blatant provocations, the feelings attached to his words were still too raw to ignore.

"I must say, it felt… _right_ to slice the spine of a traitor," he crooned, clicking his tongue in reproach. "I have to give him credit, though. He showed a great deal of courage confronting me. Back in your sad, little planet I pegged him as a coward."

"Stop talking about him!" Rey warned, fury slowly morphing into hatred.

"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?" Another evil smile sent a cold chill up her spine. "That's unfortunate. You deserve so much better than an ordinary deserter."

"Shut up!"

Kylo Ren had slowly backed her into a corner. His soft, deceivingly peaceful voice wrapped around her emotions, her nerves now stretched to the limit. Her loathing for him was now all consuming—searing and viral… He frowned with feigned chagrin. "So hard to find good sanitation workers these days."

His last words detonated over a dozen adverse emotions that made Rey burst into such a brutal attack Ren was forced to retreat several steps, using the Force to thwart them. She advanced on him, encouraged by a surge of unprecedented power that was rooted in a deep sense of hostility and raw emotions. Scary as it was, the more she gave into it, the stronger the Force grew inside her. Ren appeared to be working hard at blocking and returning her blows. He moved swiftly and with the grace that comes from a more advanced fighter, but her spirit matched his skill. They battled fiercely, their reflexes sharp, in tune with the Force and absolutely worthy of their heritage. At one point Kylo Ren got a clear advantage over Rey, advancing on her until she was backed up against the wall of the canyon. Feeling trapped, she dove deeper into her pain and focused all her power on the center of his chest. Enraged, Rey released all her hatred in one deathly thrust.

She was partly shocked to see Kylo Ren fall to the ground. In an instant, her rampant emotions evaporated into a cloud of guilt and regret as she stood on the spot, observing his motionless body with a mixture of shame and surprise. Unsure of what to do next, Rey made her way over to him, a reluctant apology on her lips.

“That was..." she began to mumble, kneeling beside him. "I didn't mean to—"

A strong arm pushed her to the ground, making her gasp. Kylo Ren then rolled on top of her, fully awake and alert as he pressed her body to the ground, pinning her down with the weight of his body. She squirmed under him, helplessly trying to free her hands from his tight clasp above her head.

"Never give into compassion!" he hissed. "It will irreparably lead to your death!" Looking deep into her eyes, Rey noticed something undefinable flickering across them when he added, "Trust me on that."

She stopped struggling, focusing on his face instead. He was close enough for her to notice the almost imperceptible difference between the iris and the pupil in his eyes, to feel his soft breath on her cheek, to follow the diagonal path of the scar with which she had branded him... Rey was rendered speechless by the disconcerting intimacy of his proximity. She tried to protest, but found she was incapable of uttering a single sound. A peculiar warmth began to spread throughout her entire body—primal and completely unfamiliar. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and responsible for the increasing speed of her drumming heartbeat. She attempted to control her ragged breathing as a jumble of conflicting emotions swelled inside her chest. The situation was almost surreal. Rey made an effort to process what was happening, make sense of it, only to realize a lot of what she was feeling didn't stem from within herself. As Ren kept staring down at her, a bright ray of an undefinable color seared through the dark energy of his soul, betraying what his expression so easily concealed. And, when his gaze trailed down to her lips, she cursed the sudden rush of heat warming up her cheeks.

"Get off of me," she said, her voice too weak to be remotely commanding.

Kylo Ren slowly released the grip on her hands, resting his elbows on either side of her head to support his weight while he kept regarding her in steadfast silence for what felt to Rey like a small eternity.

"You're still afraid of me," he finally whispered. His furrowed brow left little doubt that he believed that to be the case; the softness in his tone denoted that he understood her fear. He clenched his jaw and said, "You should be."

With that, he rolled off her and got up, making his way over a pile of fallen rocks that lay scattered along the shore. Rey tried to wrap her head around what had just happened between them, trying to find an explanation for the mismatched clutter of emotions that had left an inexplicable ache in her chest. She walked quietly to where he stood overlooking the pond, wondering whether training for the day was over, or…

"Shall we continue with the training?" she asked, feeling very much like an intruder.

"In a minute," he growled, making her feel as such.

She knew better than to push him, whether by instinct or wisdom, so she retreated to one of the nearby dunes and sat on the warm sand while she tried to organize her scattered thoughts. Amid all the confusion, one thing became perfectly clear:  
Whatever had just happened between them, should never happen again.

**[TBC…]**


	6. Reluctance

_She couldn't really tell whether the ground below her was real. All that existed at the moment was a strange sensation of weightlessness. Her eyes had drifted shut while her body refused to obey any rational command sent its way. Her head tilted back, willingly or under veiled coercion, she couldn't be sure. There was an inherent fear that came along with the lack of control she was experiencing as her hands clutched the dark fabric of his tunic._

_When his lips landed on her collarbone, she exhaled a soft gasp that sounded like flagrant betrayal in the chasm of silence that existed between them. That only encouraged his mouth to venture upward, into the hollow of her neck, along the soft lines of her jaw… A slow, tortuous trek that led to the sanctuary of her parted lips. The treacherous moan that escaped from her throat got buried in the depths of his mouth as he hungrily deepened the kiss, tasting her thoroughly, taking so much more than anybody had ever asked for, and driving her speeding heartbeat into a frenzy._

_His boldness caused her grip to tighten on the dark robe. She didn't quite know if it was to push him away or pull him even closer, but was shocked at her own disappointment when his lips abandoned hers to trail their lazy way along her cheek, planting a gossamer kiss at the tender spot right below her earlobe. His voice, dark and smooth, struck an emotional chord deep inside her._

_Don't be afraid. I feel it too._

_He pulled away, just a fraction, and she opened her eyes to stare at the mask of the monster, her own horror reflected in the metallic armor that framed its features._

Rey woke up with a start, a scream of sheer terror lodged in her throat. She was greeted by the sterile silence of the shuttle, which was bathed in the now familiar reddish glow of the stand-by lighting inside the cabin. Her heart pounded painfully inside her chest as she struggled to get her bearings. Tiny beads of sweat peppered her forehead and upper lip, and she took in a deep, shuddery breath in a desperate attempt to calm her jagged nerves.

Her eyes travelled to the pilot seat, where the subject of her recent nightmare rested, chest rising and falling, marking the peaceful rhythm of deep slumber. As her anxiousness began to dissolve, boundless curiosity drove her to observe him carefully. His size and presence seemed somehow less threatening in that sprawled, unguarded position. His head was tilted to the side, his lips slightly parted while his black lashes rested on his cheekbones in stark contrast to his pale skin. He wasn't exactly handsome, not in the way Rey had come to understand the universal code of conventional beauty, and yet there was something about him that was exceptionally attractive—frighteningly so. It could be the way his eyebrows were slightly creased in concentration, even in the clutches of deep sleep, or the way his hair fell in disarray over his forehead, or the defined shape of his jawline accentuated by the high collar of his tunic. Whatever that elusive quality was, it took away from the menacing image he insisted on portraying and made him slightly more human.

Or perhaps, Rey thought uncomfortably, it was just the opposite…

Her eyes fell on the two holstered lightsabers at his hip. It would be so easy to use that moment to take back what was rightfully hers. She pondered on it for a while before deciding against it. It wasn't the right time. It would be counterproductive. After all, her training had just begun…

There was a rapid shift behind his eyelids and a slight twitch of his brow, and Rey was more than a little surprised to realize he was caught in a dream. Her imagination had hit a roadblock when it came to him, couldn't even begin to guess what a _Knight of Ren_ could possibly dream about. It was probably something dark and terrifying and absolutely none of her business.

_So, what was making it so enticing to dive into his mind?_

She quickly dismissed the temptation. It just wouldn't be right. He had been in her same position the night before and, for some reason, had granted her the courtesy of privacy while she slept. Shouldn't she offer him the same show of respect?

Ignoring the unspoken code of conduct shared by those with such abilities, Rey's mind drifted away from her despite her reticence.

_No, this is wrong…_

And yet, she became physically unable to put the brakes on. She knew she ought to stop her mind from wandering further, but by the time she wrapped her head around what was happening, it was already too late. She was already too far inside his mind to be able to summon up the will to pull back…

_A small boy walked slowly down a long hallway. He couldn't have been older than five or six years old. Rey was unable to see his face, and soon realized she was perceiving her surroundings as the boy himself, the way Ren's mind had conjured it. She was forced to squint at the impossibly white walls on either side, reflecting a brightness that did not exist outside of the surreal realm of the subconscious. The boy kept walking slowly. A feeling of trust and absolute safety came over her. It was unlike anything she had experienced in the real world. She felt happy and loved…_

_She was home._

_There was an open door at the end of the corridor. A soft, comforting rumbling could be heard beyond it. The boy crossed the threshold to discover a tall figure staring out a massive window, his back to the door as he gazed quietly into space. Both Rey and the boy smiled with joy the moment they recognized him._

_Chewie!_

_The wookie turned around to face them, bowcaster firmly in hand. With a deafening grunt he took aim at them and pulled the trigger. The boy was propelled against the wall, then fell to the ground, his eyes staring at his executioner with the blank stare of death._

_Rey screamed._

They were both thrown back into reality in an instant. Visibly shaken, Ren glared at Rey, anger twisting his features into something that, just mere moments ago, would have been unrecognizable. A stampede of viral emotions were trampling through her chest: regret, shame, fear, sadness... Rey couldn't pinpoint which one was doing the worst damage, but she would've given anything to make the agony stop.

"I'm sorry!" she breathed for a lack of a better way out. "I didn't mean to… It just happened!"

His ire was immediately evident, as was his struggle for self-control, and something dark and vile snapped inside of him. Rey felt a sudden pressure on her throat, like an iron fist that made it impossible for her to take air into her lungs. Gasping for oxygen, she brought her hands to her neck in a panic.

"Your curiosity comes at a price," he roared, rage rolling off him in violent waves.

Tears began prickling her eyes. She reached for his outstretched arm, gripping his wrist with both hands in a frantic attempt to divert the fury of his power. But as her terror became stronger, so did his unyielding grasp.

"Please, don't!"

Tears of desperation made her vision suddenly blurry. She felt her head spinning, about to black out.

"Control your fear!" he hissed.

But she couldn't. She was fighting a losing battle, couldn't even think straight as her lungs ached from the lack of oxygen.

"Control-your-fear!" he repeated, enunciating every word with a calmness that bordered on the psychotic. His eyes were darker than she'd ever seen them, piercing into her very soul.

Rey let his words sink in and stopped fighting. A moment of understanding stretched between them, where the heart-stopping fear that had held her prisoner just a second ago turned into a completely different emotion, one rooted in shadows and drenched with hatred. She held his stare, a clash of dark energy as the stronghold on her larynx began to gradually rip free from his controlling grip.

The raw power that surged through her veins was exhilarating like a drug, dangerous like an all-consuming black hole, absorbing every flicker of light into extinction. She fed off that power, pushing back with all her might until the cabin became so charged with their combined energy it felt as if it could spontaneously combust at any moment. Rey noticed the almost imperceptible smile spreading across Ren's face and knew she had fallen into his trap.

"Stop!" she demanded.

"Make me!"

He seemed to be enjoying the whole exchange, reveling in her growing power. It was obvious the tension was beginning to weigh down on them both, it was now a game of stamina, rather than power, and Rey didn't think she could keep up the fight on her end for much longer. One final burst of energy pushed her over the verge of her endurance. She thought he would take the opportunity to show his supremacy, to punish her for her retaliation. But she was wrong. He appeared to be almost as exhausted as she was, his mind and body just as drained.

"You're finally learning to use the Force, Scavenger," he said, breathing heavily. "Next time I won't be this forgiving."

"You still want me to fear you," she told him, trying to bring her own breathing under control.

"Is that what you think?" He raised his eyebrow in silent query. "To be honest, I don't really care whether you fear me or not."

"But earlier you said—"

"Consider it a piece of friendly advice." Ren regarded her silently for a long moment, head tilted slightly to the side, his expression unreadable. "The dream," he finally whispered. The way he kept looking at her was making Rey extremely uncomfortable. "It _touched_ you."

Rey felt a rush of heat shoot up to her cheeks.

"W—what dream?"

"You saw something you shouldn't have seen," he continued, his eyes fixed on hers. "Be careful, Scavenger. Curiosity can be quite dangerous."

Rey held his stare, determined not to be intimidated by his tactics. "I caught a glimpse of a happy childhood," she said evenly. "Something I never had. Something you chose to destroy."

"Is that jealousy I detect?" he said through a lopsided grin. "You would trade your lonely, pathetic childhood in the deserts of Jakku to have a loving family, a home… a giant _furball_ for a playmate. It appears like such an obvious choice, doesn't it?"

"Isn't it?" she asked, swallowing down the grief for the life she never had.

"What if I told you, that which you believe to be a perfect life, is simply an illusion," he stated. Resting his elbows on his thighs, he leaned forward, spoke intimately. "What if I told you, you were actually the lucky one."

"I'd say you are crazy," she replied.

He nodded, his thoughts turned inwards. "Perhaps you're right."

"Though I'm more inclined to believe you're just _evil_."

"And you will not rest until you have me figured out," he said. The hint of seduction in his voice didn't go amiss by Rey.

"Don't flatter yourself," she said between clenched teeth. "We've entered into a partnership in which you are my teacher and I am your protégé. The only reason for our interaction is that we need each other to get out of this rock alive, otherwise I would have never agreed to such a perverse arrangement."

"How perverse do you find me, really, when your own subconscious longs for physical contact?"

Her eyes widened in shock and wonderment.

_Does he…?_

"I don't need to get inside your mind to feel it," he told her quietly. "You shouldn't fight it," he added casually. "Lust is an excellent conduit. You must hitch its power."

Rey shifted on her seat, her puzzled frown deepening. She despised tapping into the dark side of the Force, she did not appreciate him pointing out what she ought to be feeling, and she most definitely didn't like the turn the conversation was taking.

"I'm a bit tired," she mumbled, avoiding his eyes. "Tomorrow will be another exhausting day. I don't know about you, but I need to get some rest so, if you don't mind…"

She let her words trail and tried to get as comfortable as possible in the rigid aircraft seat. The airy fabric of the space blanket was her only shield, useless as it was against either physical or metaphysical assaults. Not that he had attempted the former outside of the rigorous training. As for the latter, she had been far guiltier on that count.

"I think I owe you an apology," she said, letting the words roll over her tongue reluctantly. "I shouldn't have pried into your mind while you were asleep."

"No, you shouldn't have," he agreed.

There wasn't much more she could say. She was not going to grovel for his forgiveness, although judging by his reaction it appeared he didn't really need or expect an apology. And yet, she got the sense that if it were ever to happen again, he wouldn't be nearly as forgiving. Rey turned her back to him, curling into her seat with the blanket tightly wrapped around her body. 

With one last glance over her shoulder, she muttered, "Good night."

She heard the rustle of the seat as he leaned back, felt the intensity of his stare upon her and the eeriness of his enigmatic smile.

"Sweet dreams…" he finally whispered.

**[TBC…]**


	7. Convergence

It was another windy day at the canyon. Their training at the pond had been cut short by the impending possibility of another sandstorm, so they had thought it wise to just load up on water and supplies, and head back to camp to stay close to the shuttle in case the weather turned sour. It gave them the opportunity to work on strength, rather than endurance, a task Rey found a bit more challenging as she commanded her sore biceps to lift her weight for the fiftieth time over the semi extended shuttle wing.

They were down to their last portion, which meant they had to find an adequate source of protein to sustain their bodies during the strenuous physical training. Having never eaten the flesh of another living entity, Rey found Kylo Ren's hunting suggestion rather preposterous and completely repulsive. Despite the limited resources she'd had growing up on Jakku, she'd never experienced a shortage of portions, whether by her own bartering or other resident's charity. After all, people who were forced to live on desolate rocks with scarce resources were bound to offer each other a lending hand on occasion. Perhaps their current situation was truly a matter of extreme survival. But having no choice but to eat dead flesh? She shuddered once again at the thought.

Another gush of wind swirled down the canyon leaving a cloud of sand and dust in its wake. Rey let herself drop to the ground, a thin layer of sweat covering her skin, and watched the haze settle around them.

"Do you think there is another storm coming?" she asked, partly out of curiosity, and partly to break the unbearable silence that was already grating on her nerves. 

Not that silence in itself was a concept she wasn’t used to. Jakku had taught her to thrive within it, and she had found herself even craving it when the rowdy environment at the base had become a bit too overwhelming. But there was something about not talking while in the proximity of another person that she hadn’t mastered yet. With Finn, conversations had flowed easily from the get-go for, in that respect, they were both kindred spirits. Even at the Niima Outpost while she’d polished her pieces, there had been smiles and glances exchanged, a form of non-verbal communication that was comforting and familiar. But, with mystics like Master Luke and Kylo Ren, the lack of verbal interaction bordered on the unsettling. 

Wondering if he’d even heard her earlier question, she turned to him. "The last one almost tore the shuttle apart." 

Ren did one last push-up and stood up. "At least those troopers got that burial you thought they merited," he deadpanned.

She sent him a withering glance, a bit stunned by his ill attempt at humor, if that's what one could call it. "There are people under those masks, you know," she mumbled, arms crossed over her chest. "They deserve respect."

"They're dead," he said without a shred of emotion.

Walking past her, he stood in the middle of the canyon with a mild frown allowing the wind to pull at his sash, batter his trousers and tousle his hair. She watched him for a long moment, wondering what he could be up to, secretly wishing he would put his stupid shirt back on, and hating herself for finding his bare upper body so damn distracting.

"Get over here!" he called.

He pointed his chin towards a pile of fallen rocks a few yards ahead. Rey followed his gaze and caught on to his train of thought right away.

"The round one in the middle," he indicated. "Focus on it, use the Force and lift it off the ground."

_Just like that?_

Rey frowned, contemplating the rock in question, and figured it was about ten times bigger than any other object she had ever successfully shifted, having been trained in the displacement of manageable items at first. She remembered Master Luke mentioning how a Jedi ought _not_ to perceive things by their volume or their weight, but her mind still couldn't grasp such an abstract concept. Realizing any argument or objection would fall on deaf ears, she exhaled deeply and forced her mind to focus on the heavy rock before her. Lifting her arm in its direction, she tapped into the Force and released the gradually building energy onto it.

The rock vibrated, then shifted about an inch to the left. That was as far her initial efforts got her, finding the huge boulder impossible to move beyond that point.

Rey's scowl deepened, her annoyance increasing at the same rate as her mounting struggle, fruitless as it was frustrating. Not one to give up easily, she tried again and again, her concentration steadfast on the massive object. A steady drop of sweat began trailing down her temple, but Rey kept trying, refusing defeat, not yet ready to give up. Practice would get her there soon enough, she just needed to persevere until the rock gave way. It was simply a matter of time… She could feel Ren's piercing stare on her back, making the task at hand all the more challenging. But that didn't deter her, she kept at it until exhaustion began to wear her out, fogging her mind and draining her body.

_It was too difficult. She wasn't ready yet._

"It's too hard!" she finally heard herself say, much to her chagrin.

"You're not focusing!" he accused, his tone a mixture of exasperation and disappointment.

"I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can," he retorted. "You just don't know it yet."

Rey swiveled on her heels to face him with a furious stare. "Is that a fact?" she growled. "And, may I ask, how long did it take _you_ to move a rock the size of a _jumpspeeder_?"

"You're making it more complicated than it really is," he told her darkly.

And, though he hid his frustration well, she could feel his temper burning red-hot inside him. _Patience was obviously not one of his virtues_ , she thought. Not that he had many virtues as it was. 

They stood facing each other for what seemed like an interminable moment, neither of them budging from their stubborn staring match. It was finally Kylo Ren who lowered his head, gazing at his dust layered boots for a second before meeting her eyes again.

"Okay, come over here," he said, his voice unusually kind.

Rey hesitated, not sure what he was asking of her. Ren didn't wait for her to obey his request, he grabbed her wrist and, pulling her closer, he stood behind her with his chest pressed against her back.

"What are you doing?" she asked, tense all of a sudden.

"Just relax," he said softly, trailing his hand down her arm and lifting it in the direction of the rock. 

His proximity only managed to make her even more nervous. She tried to pull her arm back, but he held it firmly in place, while his free hand draped across her midriff to keep her still and preventing her from turning around. Rey heard him whisper an almost inaudible 'trust me' that, for the oddest of reasons, cast the desired spell on her.

She relaxed against him and, almost immediately, began to feel a faint humming, like a soundless melody surfing through her veins. It was a mild sensation at first, so feeble she believed it to be something her imagination was conjuring up. Soon, though, it increased to a steady vibration, making every single one of her nerve endings tingle and causing her drumming heartbeat to pick up speed. The sensation became gradually stronger as the electric charge of the Force rushed through her making her gasp. It was exhilarating, its raw power feeding every last cell inside her body, infusing her with an overwhelming surge of strength.

Rey saw the rock start its slow ascent, lifting off the ground as if it were weightless, hovering effortlessly over the rest. She could feel the connection between her fingertips and the massive object, now floating several feet above the base of the canyon. Ren directed her hand to the side and the rock followed suit, moving laterally in the direction they were commanding. She watched its flawless movement, completely enthralled and unable to hold back a smile. The stimulating power of the Force was all around them, dark and light, together in perfect synergy. It went in crescendo and permeated their senses down to their very core. Breaths synchronized, hearts beating in tandem, they steadily fused into a single consciousness. It should have been terrifying, but Rey couldn't bring herself to be remotely concerned or afraid. And, impossible as it was to conceive, all that existed at one point was that surreal bond between them.

_This is what it truly feels like…_

Sharp agony suddenly pierced through her left side, right below the waist, and the spell was broken in an instant. Rey heard Ren's deep groan an instant before the crashing sound of the rock that dropped heavily onto the ground. Startled, she turned around to find him clutching his side, blood seeping through his fingers. It took her a second to realize that, what she had experienced a moment before, had been his physical pain; another second to discover the source of their abrupt interruption.

A group of tall, masked creatures fully covered in dirty, desert colored rags had sneaked up to them so silently, they had failed to notice their presence until it was too late. One of them had fired an archaic weapon that could have been mistaken for a bowcaster, had it not lacked in power and sophistication. Though it was clearly effective enough to rip through human flesh.

Kylo Ren furiously turned to his assailant, using the Force to capture the blaster that had just been used against him and thrusting its wielder against the wall of the canyon with enough strength to knock him out. The group, comprised of another eight or nine creatures, wasted no time aiming their weapons at them, but this time Ren was on alert, stopping what looked like a flock of handmade arrows in midair, while Rey grabbed the biggest rock she could get her hands on and hurled it at one of the creatures who was closing in on her, hitting it squarely on the head. Angered by their retaliation, the group advanced menacingly, circling around them, ready to engage in body to body combat. They were as big and bulky as Chewbacca, and ten times more intimidating.  
The sound of Ren's saber crackled through their undecipherable chatter, causing them to stop for a moment. Rey's eyes traveled to the deep gash at his side, blood turning the black sash around his waist a shade darker. She tried to think of a way out, a distraction at the very least, but the clutter of thoughts crowding her mind made it impossible for her to think straight. If they could at the very least communicate with them in some way, or…

_It was worth a shot._

Rey focused on the creature closer to her and spoke, her voice firm and steady:

"You will back away, and leave from where you came."

The group kept encroaching on them, unfazed. Perhaps the language barrier was affecting her power of persuasion, although she had a feeling the technique worked on a much deeper level than just bending the perception of the spoken word.

"You will back away, and leave from where you came," she repeated, anxiousness crawling into her tone as the creatures got closer.

"Forget it," Ren told her. "It doesn't work on them. They operate collectively."

"What does that mean?" she asked, backing into him.

Before he could answer, the group charged against them all at once. Kylo Ren swung his lightsaber, slicing one of them in half, and avoiding the sharp metal blade of a second creature who was armed with a Falchion sword. He swirled around, taking yet another one down, while Rey used high kicks and fists to fend off a particularly nasty member wielding a one-handed flail, its deadly spikes missing her shoulder by less than an inch. She managed to take him down, just barely, but was overpowered by a second creature who grabbed her in a bear hug from behind, successfully immobilizing her. An instant later, she felt her head being yanked back by the hair, and the cold blade of a sword pressed tightly against her jugular.

Kylo Ren froze the moment he became aware of the situation, and the canyon fell completely silent. The moment he stopped fighting, the group took a step back, as if to give him a choice to continue or surrender. Rey, on her part, kept struggling against her captor, as futile as her squirming was. She looked over at Ren, who stood panting before her, contrition and anger grabbing a hold of both of them. 

Their eyes locked, an entire conversation exchanged in a fraction of a second.

The red glow of Ren's statically charged saber vanished and Rey closed her eyes in defeat. The creatures closed in on him, snatching the lightsaber and pushing him forward, prompting him to move westward along the canyon.

They walked for several long miles, losing track of time eventually. The only conversation heard was spoken in a foreign language neither of them could understand. Rey sent occasional glances Ren's way, noticing how he kept turning paler as they ambled along, his skin damp and clammy despite the fast dropping temperatures that came with dusk. And, for the first time since she had woken up on that deserted moon, she couldn't fathom facing whatever challenges awaited for her in that hostile place without him. The implication of that realization made her loathe herself, and yet, denying the connection that appeared to be developing between them was downright ludicrous.

The twin suns had already set when they were practically shoved inside a grotto, where a series of cells held different creatures behind metal bars built right into the rock of the cavern. Their forms were illuminated by a row of fire lit torches along a short gallery. Some of the prisoners lay quietly in their cramped space, others curiously approached the bars to study the new arrivals, and some simply grunted or growled at them as they walked by. They were finally pushed into the last empty cell, the slam of the door as it shut closed behind them echoing loudly all over the grotto.

Rey sat on the ground next to Kylo Ren, who rested his head against the cold wall and clenched his jaw without saying a word.

"You've lost a lot of blood," she pointed out.

She tried to take a look at the open wound, but he weakly swatted her hand away. "I'll be fine!" he snarled.

"Famous last words!" she cajoled, annoyance eroding her patience.

He swallowed dryly a couple of times, eyes closed against the pain. Rey grabbed her canteen, relieved to find it still half full, and put it to his lips. Ren’s eyes flashed open. He appeared to be mildly shocked, but exhaustion and thirst ended up getting the better of him, and he took several gulps of water, almost draining what was left inside the small canteen.

"Why do you want to help me, Scavenger?" he rasped, wincing as he shifted to face her. "Your life would be so much easier with me out of the picture..."

She hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "I need your help to get out of this place," she said avoiding his unwavering stare. "You're no use to me if you bleed to death."

The familiar words made him break into a tepid smile that led to a dry, half-hearted chuckle.

"I could try to heal you," she continued. "I can cauterize the wound the same way you did to my leg after the crash. I know I can do it. I just need your guidance."

Kylo Ren blinked tiredly, pondering on her offer as if it was something to be bartered, as if unwilling to take her help at face value. A faint nod of approval prompted Rey to get closer, pull down his sash, and inspect the wound under the faint light of the fire-lit torches. The rudimentary arrow had entered his lower back and pierced through his side, exiting right above his hipbone. She didn't know if there might have been any serious internal damage, but hoped his body would be able to heal itself once the bleeding stopped.

"Well, at least you'll be able to add another scar to your impressive collection," she quipped, pouring what was left of the water over the open flesh, causing a slight flinch from him. "Although, I imagine, after being hit by a bowcaster this is nothing more than an insect bite."

"That was…" he groaned when she brushed his soaked sash over the wound. “Adrenaline can be a powerful ally.”

Yes. She supposed that night in the snow the ferocity of his movements must have stemmed from a combination of blatant stupidity, an insatiable thirst for revenge and an overload of adrenaline. The memory of that battle made her concern for him waver, a glimmer of hatred sneaking into her unhinged emotions.

Rey pushed away all negative thoughts and placed her hands over the exit wound on his abdomen.

"You are going to have to guide me through this…"

**[TBC…]**


	8. Teamwork

Fatigue had won over Rey's stubborn desire to stay awake, so she lay on the cold ground in that surreal state where dreams and reality can't be told apart. The cavern was damp and freezing. The chill had penetrated all the way to her bones, making her teeth chatter uncontrollably. Unable to withstand it any longer, she silenced her better judgment and curled into a tight ball against Kylo Ren, his feverish body offering her much needed warmth. She had clumsily draped his tunic over both of them, its dark scent almost chilling her further than the cavern itself.

She lay awake for a long while, unable to sleep, listening to Ren’s ragged breathing beside her, feeling the uneven rise and fall of his chest against her back. She was still reeling from the exhilaration that had ran through her during the healing experience. Despite her apparent confidence when she'd first suggested it, Rey had very serious doubts about her ability to cauterize an open wound with nothing more than her faith in the Force. And yet, the energy had flowed so naturally between them, for a few moments she had felt… _omnipotent_.

She remembered how her hand had hovered over the bleeding wound, how Ren's fist had tightened around her wrist and, in seconds, the intense heat at the palm of her hand had begun working its magic. His entire body had tensed up for several agonizing moments, jaw clenched tightly against the searing pain of the cauterization while Rey observed the process in awe, marveled by the raw intensity of her newfound ability. While his fingers around her wrist transferred the energy, it was her hand which guided its power.

The laceration was practically sealed by the time Ren had loosened his iron grip, his body slumping limply to the side. It took Rey a couple of seconds to realize that he'd passed out. She had observed his still form at length as it laid on the ground in a rather awkward positon, a curtain of damp hair partly covering his face, which appeared far more relaxed now save for the remnants of a frown. Unwilling to disturb him further, she'd just sat beside him, staring at her hands, incapable of getting over her amazement.  
The bond between them was getting stronger. She could feel it. She could also sense him fighting it just as clearly as she could feel her own reluctance. But that didn't seem to matter. There was something bigger than either of them pulling them closer, an unforeseen side effect of their combined abilities, she supposed. The Force had so many layers unbeknownst to her, it was like the color palette in the Jakku desert—an endless sea of beige, orange and red melding together into every possible shade imaginable.

Rey was starting to drift off again when she noticed Ren stirring beside her. He was mumbling something unintelligible, though by the sound of his voice she could tell he was in distress. His body jerked at one point and she sat up, turning to face him. He let out an anguished whimper while his face, now visibly flushed due to the high fever, contorted into a tortured expression. Caught in the clutches of what must have been a terrifying nightmare, he appeared much younger and vulnerable. He thrashed once again, his breathing becoming choppy and labored, and finally prompting Rey to shake his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. He pushed her hand away, stuck in his own disturbing reality. 

Perhaps it was too frightening to contemplate, or it might have been her desire to keep the promise she'd made to him, but for some reason, Rey was disinclined to dive into his nightmare. So, when she heard Han's angry voice followed by General Organa’s accusing one surfacing from his subconscious, she felt a lump in her throat and her heart tightened.

_Every time I look at him I see the shadow that was your father!_

_Why don't you just say it, Han! Sometimes you wish he'd never been born!_

Rey felt a sudden yank into the abyss and, an instant later, Kylo Ren woke up with a sharp gasp. He was drenched in sweat and clearly disoriented. He took in his surroundings, trying to bring his ragged breathing under control until his stare fell on Rey, and his mind finally grabbed a hold of reality.

He sat up, quite ill at ease after realizing she had been witness to his weaker side. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a long sigh and closed his eyes, letting his head rest back against the cold wall.

"I wasn't prying." For some inexplicable reason, she felt the need to explain.

He offered her a faint nod of acknowledgment. "I know."

It was a simple response that spoke volumes. Even his tone had been mellow. His belligerence had taken the back seat and he seemed far less ominous and a lot more like a troubled young man. And, although Rey was convinced this new aspect to his personality was just a fever induced mirage, she couldn't stop the steady plummeting of her own defenses.

"You should try get as much rest as you can," she said, trying to keep concern out of her voice and failing miserably. He raised a skeptical eyebrow at her unexpected sympathy, making her feel rather self-conscious and forcing her to add, "I just think that if we're going to break out of here any time soon you need to b—"

"Don't fall into that trap," he cut in.

Rey frowned, her eyes searching his. "What trap?"

"Empathy, comradery, friendship…" he said tiredly. “Whatever you might think is developing between us. It's not real. It's not meant to…” he bit his lower lip, his voice lowering to a whisper. “Let’s leave emotions out of it."

Rey was taken aback by his bluntness, but she didn't buy it.

"But, isn't that what you wanted from the very beginning? A connection? Wasn't that what you longed for in that interrogation room?" she shot back. "Why else would you have bothered to show me your true face? Why else would you have longed to search my mind before attempting to retrieve the information that you so desperately needed? Why was I your _'guest'_ and not your _'prisoner'_ , Ren?" Her tone had turned increasingly defiant as she glared at him. "You are not the cold hearted dark lord you believe yourself to be."

He studied her silently for a long moment. "Is that a fact?"

"You are _nothing_ like Darth Vader," she hissed with an irrational willingness to antagonize him. "There's still light inside you. I can _feel_ it!"

"What is it you expect from me, Scavenger? You need a confidant? Do you want to be my sidekick?" he murmured slightly over a whisper. "Or is your desire more _carnal_ in nature?" His smile turned wicked as his eyes roamed sensually down her body and then trailed back up to her face. "Is that what you really want? Have you ever even—?"

"Shut up!" she snarled, cheeks burning.

There was a surge of arousal that swept over them, raw and undeniable. They both felt it, both let it settle back down. Unable to hold the intensity of his stare any longer, Rey turned her head to the side. She knew his intent was to rile her up, get some sort of viral response out of her. So she decided not to give him the satisfaction and, instead, she lifted her chin once again and held her ground.

"I want to hate you just as much as you wish me to," she said evenly. "And, believe me, I've tried! I’m sure I did at one point, but…"

Kylo Ren remained impassive, his expression unreadable.

_I need you to hate me…_

The words lingered between them, unspoken, but as real as the darkness that surrounded them.

"You should've never left Jakku," he finally told her in a tight whisper. And, though he didn't say anything else, she had the uncanny sensation there was a hidden message behind that simple statement.

_What are you not telling me?_

As counterintuitive as it was to want to know him on a deeper level, Rey couldn't help but wonder if earning his trust would lead her irrevocably down the path to the Dark Side. Reckless as it might be, she couldn't even bring herself to care. She was beginning to crave the power that came with that side of the Force and, to her utmost surprise, the excitement of having Kylo Ren as its conduit.

"You feel it too, don't you?" she whispered. "I can't quite explain it, but…"

"I felt it the very first moment I saw you," he spoke slowly, his voice caressing each word. "I knew right away it was you."

_What does he mean by that?_

A deep chill ran up Rey's spine. An avalanche of questions came rushing to her mind. She was about to voice several in a row when they heard the unmistakable metal clanking of cell doors and a loud voice saying something in a foreign language as one of the canyon miners, as they had offhandedly baptized them, gradually approached their cell. A tray was shoved through the narrow opening at the base of the door with two bowls of food and a soft leather pouch filled with what Rey presumed to be water. Hunger made them reach for their bowls right away, each devouring the first bite with ravenous ferocity. The second Rey figured out the consistency of what she was chewing was dead flesh, she spat it back into the bowl, completely nauseated.

Ren watched her stoically as he ate the contents of his bowl in silence.

"Don't look at me like that!" she admonished with a scowl. "You find it just as repulsive as I do. I know it!"

"That's irrelevant. You need sustenance. I suggest you eat your food."

Deep down Rey knew he was right. Who knew when they would come across another multi-nutrient portion? They had to take what they could get or risk starving to death. She sighed, closed her eyes and tried not to gag as she swallowed the disgusting contents of her bowl in record time. The sounds of other creatures wolfing down their food could be heard from the adjacent cells, along with the occasional burping and clanking of bowls against the ground. Once finished, Kylo Ren placed the bowl back on the tray and took several long swigs of water from the leather pouch. 

"We're getting out of here tonight," he said wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

Whether it had been the food, or the brief recovery time, Ren seemed to have completely broken the recent fever and gained some of his strength and color back. His vitality was really something to be admired, and Rey wondered if perhaps the Force had something to do with his ability to sustain and pull through serious injuries. She watched him as he got up without major difficulty, a minor wince the only sign he might have some residual side pain, but that was to be expected. The fact he was so sure he could pull off a break from that hellhole that night was testament to his current physical condition.

His arrogance had rubbed her the wrong way ever since she'd met him, however, this time she found his self-assurance rather comforting. "Do you have a plan?"

"Of course," he replied, making her question sound ridiculous. "We're going to cut through those bars and crush anybody that might try to get in our way."

"Can we use the Force to pry those open?" she asked, pointing her chin at the metal bars that enclosed them.

"We probably could, but there's even an easier way," he replied through a lopsided grin. Leaning forward, he reached behind his back and produced Luke's lightsaber.

"You had it this whole time!" she gasped in astonishment. "I thought they had taken it!"

"No. They only took mine. And now I'm going to get it back."

"Why didn't you say anything?" she accused, anger flaring.

"I'm telling you now." He extended the hilt of the saber to her in an unexpected offer. "Here. I've seen you use this thing. I'm sure you can hold your own."

She took it without a second's hesitation. "What about you?"

"I can handle a bunch of backward canyon beasts without one, trust me," he sneered. It was obvious he was still sore about his latest defeat. As obvious as the fact he partly blamed her for it.

"I haven't used one of these since…"

Her words trailed, evaporating into a memory that still haunted them. It sent them back to the day in which their fates had been sealed. A clear reminder of the precise moment when they had become each other's nemesis.

"You'll do fine," he said dryly. "Just tap into whatever feeling gave you such dexterity the last time."

"You mean, an irrepressible desire to _kill_ you?" she quipped.

He turned to face her, their height difference at such close distance making her feel small all of a sudden. "Is that still an effective source of motivation for you?" he asked her.

The answer to that question was a double edged sword. She was well aware of that. Either way she chose to respond, she was bound to be led down a dangerous path. There was no denying that somewhere along the line there had been a shift to their dynamic. It had been so subtle, she hadn't even seen it coming.

Rey lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes for some reason. "No," she finally uttered.

Kylo Ren took a step back, and she couldn't help but feel a hint of disappointment on his part, only it wasn't really _disappointment_. It was something else… A feeling she couldn't quite place.

"Make sure you stay alert," he said gripping one of the metal bars and inspecting its sturdiness. "The saber can probably cut through these like butter. Just keep in mind we won't have much time to—"  
Whatever he was going to say got cut short by the sound of approaching footsteps. Their escape plan was modified on the spot, perhaps for the best. Kylo Ren turned to Rey with a warning glare and a reassuring nod.

_Get ready…_

Tightening her grip on the hilt of the saber, Rey focused on the steady footsteps as they got closer and closer, ready to fight the moment the door to their cell opened. When their visitor finally came into view, her aplomb vanished, surprise rising instead.  
Just as disconcerted, Ren turned to her and silently commanded her to strike. Rey, however, stood in place, paralyzed, the hand wielding the lightsaber hanging limply at her side.

**[TBC…]**


	9. Two Powerful Bloodlines

A canyon miner opened the door and a girl, not older than nine or ten, stepped into their cell. Clad in light, tribal gear, she kept pointing a long spikey lance at them that she held menacingly with both hands, her expression defiant as she grunted for them to get out. Kylo Ren looked down at her with contempt, his frame practically doubled her size. His nonchalance appeared to make the girl more agitated until, at one point, she tried to poke him in the chest to force him to move, action she immediately regretted when Ren easily deflected the lance as it charged, grabbing the girl by the neck and lifting her body off the ground in a fit of rage. The lance dropped to the floor, rolling away as if scared.

Rey quickly rushed to the girl's rescue, pulling on Ren's steel-set forearm. The canyon miner also sprang into action, running into the cell a second later. An invisible thrust sent him flying across the gallery, effectively knocking him out the minute his head slammed against the hard wall.

"Stop it!" Rey wailed, failing to make Ren's arm move. "She's just a child!"

Two young eyes stared at Kylo Ren in absolute fear. Gasping for air, the girl twisted under his iron grip, her legs kicking wildly a few feet from the ground.

"STOP!" Rey yelled, anger making the Force surge to the surface in a whirlwind.

Kylo Ren felt it, he fed off it for a second before putting his victim down with a grin that could only be described as evil. The girl stumbled back a couple of steps, then fell to the ground and scrambled backwards to put some distance between them. Rey rushed over to where she was, knelt down beside her and tried to put her at ease.

"It's okay. Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you," Rey soothed. She couldn’t help but wince inwardly at such fallacy, given than Ren had almost choked her to death just a second before. The child kept gaping at the tall man, terror written all over her small face. Rey tried to smooth a lock of hair from her face, but she flinched away from her touch. "Please, don't be frightened." She offered the girl a sweet smile, a direct juxtaposition to Ren's indifferent scowl. "Do you understand me? Do you speak—?"

A raspy voice travelled down the gallery. "Nia! What's takin’ you so long, girl?"

The owner of the voice materialized several seconds later as bearded man with a cane limped into view. He regarded them for a moment before lifting his bushy eyebrows in a gesture of careful observation.

"Well, don't just stand there," he said impatiently. "I'm sure there's some other place you both'd rather be." Looking down at the girl, he added, "Get up, Nia. Now it's not the time to play."

Rey and Kylo Ren exchanged a quick glance before exiting the cell. They both silently followed the old man and the girl out the grotto, walking past the still form of the passed out canyon miner and the other beasts that growled their distaste behind the sturdy bars. The light that greeted them once they reached the outside forced them to squint and shield their eyes against the midday brightness.

"Our home is just a mile down the path," the old man informed them. A thick mat of white hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His well-worn brown robes swayed around his legs as he hiked easily over a mound of rocks. The girl, wielding her lance once again, stuck to his side. She kept sending furtive glances to Kylo Ren, her expression one of unconcealed fear and blatant distrust. 

A short distance away they came across an empty village, where a row of huts seemed to have been ransacked and practically destroyed. It displayed the typical creepiness of a ghost town. Rey felt a rush of residual fear and pain as she walked along the deserted streets, her heart sinking with every step.

"The First Order is not known for its mercy," the old man said somberly. "Teravin was a thriving village once. Now this is all that's left. I guess our contributions weren't substantial enough to deserve the few portions a week the Order refused to spare us."

Rey sent Kylo Ren an accusatory glance that he chose to ignore, but she did not say anything.

"We're all that's left of our little community," the old man continued. "My name is Mac, short for Macadam, but please stick to Mac. This is Nia. She lost her family on that frightful day a year ago and hasn't spoken a word since."

"I'm Rey, and this is Ben. Our shuttle crashed down the canyon a few days ago."

Mac nodded emphatically. "I see," he chortled. "Not the best of places to end up, but I've seen worse."

They finally made it to a small hut partly built into the wall of the canyon where they had to bend down to make it past its threshold. The inside was much more spacious than they would've guessed, with a decent size living area, a hearth against the far wall and a wooden table surrounded by mismatched chairs. A tiny kitchen opened up to the side, plus there were three doors that led to what Rey assumed to be bedrooms.

"There is a washroom down that hallway," Mac told them. "Feel free to freshen up a little if you'd like. You'll also find a stack of clothes to choose from if you wish to change."

They took him up on the offer with a nod of appreciation. Rey had to practically squeeze into the tiny room at the end of the hallway. Once inside, she figured out pulling from a lever allowed her to pour some well water into a basin. She took her time washing up, enjoying the coolness of the water as it covered her skin. There was even a bar of soap, a luxury by her standards having grown up in a place like Jakku. She detected the faint scent of a desert flower and couldn't help but smile. Feeling better than she had in days, Rey walked out of the washroom wearing a light beige, full body tunic with a wide belt of the same color that she sashed around her waist. Ren was patiently waiting outside the door, looking rather tired and withdrawn—a bit more so than usual. The thought of him barely fitting into such a confined space amused her, and she wondered how he'd even manage to find any clothes to fit his lanky frame. Their host, after all, was no more than an inch taller than she was. Of course, Ren could stroll out of the washroom naked for all she cared.

The moment Rey emerged from the hallway, the old man gestured for her to sit at the table. He was pouring some sort of brew into four clay bowls. It had a wonderful smell she couldn't quite place, but it reminded her of her childhood. The cool water had washed away most of the stress of the past several days, and though it was strange to wear someone else's robes, the gauzy garment was incredibly comfortable. Nia was sitting at the far end of the table, quietly playing with a wooden board with little pegs made of bright colored gems and grey stones.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality," Rey smiled sitting across from the old man. "I don't know how we could ever repay you."

"Nonsense!" Mac huffed. "You can stay as long as you need. I already told your… I apologize, is he your brother? Your husband?"

"Oh, no! He's not my…" she grimaced. "It's complicated."

The old man offered her a knowing smile. "Yes. I suppose nothing is ever simple when it comes to the Jedi."

Rey's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you—?"

"You managed to spook a group of monties who went hunting east of the canyon." By 'monties', Rey supposed he was referring to the canyon miners. "They claim you two were busy making an enormous rock… _'fly up in the air_ ' when they found you," he continued mystically, wiggling his fingers in midair in a hovering motion. "Now, I hadn't seen that trick in a long time, way before the demise of the Empire." His tone turned wistful, his eyes narrowing as he submerged himself in a private memory. "Don't look so surprised, my dear child. I wasn't always bound to this remote moon, you know," he told her with a wink. "Now, drink your tea before it gets cold."

She took a small sip of tea, deep in thought. "What do you know about the Jedi?"

He took several gulps of the brew, set it back on the table and focused on the steam rising from the bowl, either to ignore her question altogether, or trying to formulate an adequate answer. "We've all heard the stories growing up," he finally said. "For many years I thought the Force was just a mythical tale about good and evil. An invisible energy that surrounds us, that keeps everything in perfect balance. Something to give people hope… or to make them submit."

"But you know it's real," Rey whispered, enthralled by his words.

"Yes. I met someone who was Force sensitive when I was a young man. Back then having such abilities was a dangerous business." He waived a hand in the air, as if to dismiss his latest statement. "Of course, not much has changed since I was a child. Evil, after all, will never be abolished. It was the Empire then. Now it's called the First Order," he sighed with resignation. "Many people thought the Jedi would rise again, that they would restore the balance in a galaxy torn apart by tyranny. But that never happened, and now that the Republic has been decimated, I'm afraid there is not much hope for young folks like yourselves to live free of the control of a ruthless military regime."

"The Jedi will rise again," Rey assured him, her voice as firm as her convictions.

"I hope you're right," he shrugged, obviously not persuaded by her certainty. "But I just have lost faith in the old prophecy. Most people have."

"What prophecy?"

“I thought you were Force sensitive.” Mac raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. "You mean to tell me you don't know about it?"

"No," she said leaning forward on the table. Luke certainly had never mentioned anything. Although her Jedi Master was not a man of many words, so that in itself wasn't surprising.

"There is talk of an ancient Jedi temple," Mac began. "An old legend claims its walls show the birth of a highly Force sensitive child. A child born out of two powerful bloodlines. It is believed this child will be the one to restore balance to the galaxy." The old man's voice was low, almost reverent. "Several years ago, after the fall of the Empire, there were rumors that a great Jedi Master was building a new Jedi Order in Ossus. So, naturally, stories about the prophecy spread like wildfire. Unfortunately…"

"I know," Rey said, her heart sinking.

The old man's eyes softened at the sight of her pain. "Hey, the whole thing's probably nothing more than a tale parents tell their restless children to help them sleep. Believing in an almighty savior can give people comfort."

"People should be more concerned about their own lives and not give so much credence to childish fairy tales."

Rey turned around to find Kylo Ren behind her, arms crossed, shoulder leaning against the archway. He looked very different clad in cargo pants and an off-white shirt. Had he been wearing a leather jacket, he might have been a close replica of his father. Except, where Han had soft, kind eyes, Kylo's remained cold and cruel. He'd been listening to their conversation and, by the feelings Rey could pick up off him, he was not only aware of the prophecy, but seemed bothered by it.

"Sadly, young man, people are in dire need of a silver lining these days."

"If people need to believe in a ridiculous prophecy to give some sort of meaning to their lives, then the galaxy is in a much more pathetic state than I imagined."

With those words Kylo Ren stormed out of the hut and left both Rey and Mac in awkward silence.  
________________________________________

Rey spent the rest of the day getting to know their hosts, playing with Nia and helping Mac collect some vegetables from the small garden adjacent to the house. After a few hours, she became curious as to Kylo Ren's whereabouts, wondering what he could possibly be doing for most of the day in a place where there wasn't really an overabundance of things to do. She eventually found him sitting quietly on a boulder about a mile away from the house. The setting suns cast a stunning glow over the rocky horizon. His right arm rested on his bent knee while his fingers fiddled with a small gem, shining red against the evening light. He probably felt her approach before hearing her soft footsteps on the dusty path, but did not turn around or acknowledge her presence in any way.

"I want to know more," she demanded standing in his line of vision. "Back in the cavern you implied… You said you knew who I was from the moment you met me. What exactly did you mean by that?"

Ren stopped playing with the red stone and glanced up, a slight frown creasing his brow. The pastel hues of dusk stripped him of his evil façade, made his features look a bit softer, his eyes no longer dark, but almost hazel. Even his ever-rigid stance was somewhat more relaxed.

"I figured you'd bring it up sooner or later," he said quietly.

The light breeze kept playing with his hair, highlighting the occasional strand of light brown in sharp contrast to his otherwise darker locks. Save for the faint scar across his face, he looked like an entirely different person, and that alone shocked Rey more than she cared to admit. But it was what she felt below the surface what tugged at her heart. As she stood before him, Rey realized she was no longer talking to Kylo Ren. To her utter amazement, she found herself in the presence of Ben Solo.

"Mac's story rattled you," she said sitting beside him. "Why?"

He bit his lower lip, carefully pondering how to broach the subject.

"I was about nine or ten years old when I first felt it," he began, his sight on the horizon. "It was like a ripple in the Force, something I had never felt before." Even the timber of his voice, though no less hypnotizing, had lost its usual eeriness. "I kept hearing this voice calling my name, over and over again… In my dreams, I'd see a baby girl. She was always out of my reach. It didn’t matter anyway. No one around me believed she was real.” After a beat, he nodded. “Only He knew. He’d whisper to me at night. Soon, the Dark Side became a shelter, an answer to my obsession. My mother sensed it. Her guilt, instead of grounding me, pushed me farther into the darkness. As to my father, he was never around long enough to be bothered by such… _intangible_ issues. He never really cared to understand…" He exhaled, his eyes still fastened on the horizon and, for a moment, Rey thought he wasn't going to say anything else.

"It was fear what drove my mother to trust my uncle with my tutelage. But, like everyone else, he failed to offer any answers. The girl's image kept haunting me throughout the years. Only the sound of _His_ voice in the dead of night could soothe that restlessness that was slowly consuming me.” He jutted his jaw, then clenched it tightly. "My uncle witnessed my downward spiral into the darkness, not that he could’ve ever stopped it. The pull was too strong." Ben closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again Rey was surprised to see moistness in them. "One night I returned to the academy and overheard my uncle talking to another padawan," he continued tightly. "They were planning to move the girl out of the quadrant before sunrise.” Ben let out a shuddery breath as he struggled with the memory. "Luke had known about her all along," he said between clenched teeth, his expression pained. "He also knew I wouldn’t rest until I found her, so he made sure I never did."

Rey heard herself speaking his name.

"The day you were gone I was left feeling… _nothing_ ," he whispered. He swallowed hard a couple of times, struggled to keep treacherous emotions at bay. "Anger, rage, frustration… That void had to be filled with something, I suppose." His despair enveloped them like a cloak. It was tearing her apart. “ _He_ understood that bond from the beginning. _He_ was the only one who encouraged it, the only one who… respected it. I owe him the strength I lacked when I was a child." His blind faith in the tyrant that was Snoke made her blood run cold. She wanted to tell him that his guidance hadn’t been more than a vile opportunity to manipulate him, to use his power for his own benefit, to turn him into a puppet willing to carry out his evil plans. Deep down, however, she could tell he knew that much. 

"What the old man said is true," Ben said, being the one to break the long silence for once. "About the two bloodlines.”

"You are a Skywalker," she deduced, trying to put all the pieces together.

He turned his head and made eye contact with her for the first time.

"And _you_ are a Kenobi," he stated quietly.

_The two powerful Jedi bloodlines…_

"Obi Wan Kenobi?" she whispered in wonderment. "As in… Luke's first Jedi Master?"

"As in your grandfather."

It was all too bizarre to digest. A few months ago, she was just a scavenger trying to survive in a desert planet where she'd been abandoned as a child. Then she'd crossed paths with a BB unit and her life had taken a wild turn. Rey still remembered the first time she felt Kylo Ren's presence, how overwhelming it had felt, how scary on so many different levels: fear, attraction, curiosity... She was only now beginning to understand the true meaning behind that crucial moment. And yet, so many things didn't make sense still.

"But, if the prophecy is part of a Jedi temple, shouldn't it be sacred? Why would they work so hard to keep us apart?"

"They're afraid." His attention had turned back to the gemstone in his hand. "Afraid of the First Order, of what I am, of what our offspring would become under the power of the Dark Side."

A loaded silence stretched between them. The _Dark Side…_ The eternal divide… The crushing pressure of reality weighed heavily on them both. Rey struggled to grasp the immense scope of what he'd just told her but, out of the jumble of feelings that threatened to suffocate her, there was one that pierced right through.

"They left me alone in that forsaken planet," she said through a lump in her throat. "I spent years waiting for them to come back; endless nights trying to convince myself they hadn't forgotten about me! All because of _you_!"

"Yes," he admitted through clenched teeth. "And I _hated_ them for it!"

"They were only trying to protect me!"

"You didn't need protection!"

"They didn't want me turning into a monster!" she shot back. "They didn't want me turning into _you_!"

As evening bled into night, the shadow of Ben Solo began to fade into the darkness. His eyes had once again turned cold, an unsettling reflection of his frigid soul.

"I wasn't the one who abandoned a five year old to fend for herself in a remote desert planet," he snarled with a coldness that chilled her to the bone.

Kylo Ren pushed away from the rock where they were sitting and stood up, his back to her, his true feelings disguised behind the smoke screen that was his volatile temper. A temper he had learned to control remarkably well in the past few months, but that inevitably flared on occasion in angry waves. Walking over to him with a determined stride, Rey stood as tall as she could before him, looking up into his eyes with a wrath she was finding impossible to contain.

"You killed your fellow padawans!" she said furiously. "You became a cold hearted murderer and now you mean to tell me I'm in part responsible for that? How _dare_ you!"

But he wasn't fazed by her outburst. He simply held her stare with the utmost stoicism, not a shred of emotion clouding his features.

"It will happen sooner or later, Scavenger," he said with a certainty that unnerved her. "Sooner or later you _will_ embrace the power of the Dark Side."

**[TBC…]**


	10. The Taste of Sin

She had woken up in the middle of the night expecting to find his body next to her on the cot in the small room they were sharing, only to find an empty space beside her. They hadn't talked much after the conversation they'd had at dusk. Nothing much left to say, really. In the end, it was easier to think of the darn prophecy as a children's story, something with which to infuse people's dreams.

_A fairy tale._

Except, she knew better. For one, she knew the Force was real. Until recently, she would've as easily discarded it as an urban legend, or some spooky myth about some elusive universal balance. Also, she also remembered Han talking about Luke going in search of the first Jedi Temple. If Luke believed it to be real, who was she to doubt its existence?

And then, despite her inner struggle, there was that undeniable attraction she had always felt towards Kylo Ren… Rey wasn't sure what exactly she found so enthralling about him. At first, she was sure it had been fear and curiosity what had drawn her to him, the thrill and anticipation of facing an unfamiliar danger. Then, that had morphed into a hatred she wasn't even aware she could harbor, but as real as the burning fire in the pit of her stomach. And now… She wasn't even sure where she stood now regarding him. She would be lying to herself if she were to deny she'd been rattled by the brief glimpse into Ben Solo's persona. The man Kylo Ren had once been. As much as she tried to shake the image of his eyes reflecting the golden hues of the sunset, her mind kept taking her back to that ethereal moment in which the monster had been drowned by the last remnants of warmth inside his soul. Heartbreaking as it was, she had seen him for who he really was or, rather, who she _wished_ him to be: Han's son.

_Bring him back…_

Rey willed away the tears that had suddenly flooded her eyes. She wouldn't let her judgment be clouded by such a fleeting event. What if it had been a ploy to find her weakness? What if it was just a strategy to make her succumb to the Dark Side, lured by her desire to… _what_ exactly? Save him? Lead him back to the light?

But then, she remembered the pain—the gut-wrenching agony she'd absorbed, albeit for a second, while seating beside him on the canyon rock.

_Ben's_ pain.

She wasn't sure when it had happened but, at one point, their emotions had become intertwined. Often now, Rey was able to feel his anger, his hostility and, on numerous occasions, his struggle to repress the explosiveness of his temper. Other times she felt a deep chill settling within her, numbing her to the core. Perhaps that's why she'd been so shaken by that brief glimpse into his psyche, such a rare glimmer of light…

It was thirst, not so much insomnia, which finally dragged her out of bed. She padded her way out of the room and into the living area, where she found Ren sitting on a chair hunched down by the dying fire—still as a statue. Rey wasn't sure whether he was asleep or awake as she quietly went into the kitchen. Then, she sensed her answer.

_He's awake. He has been following my every move._

After downing a cup of water in several long gulps, Rey rubbed the knots from the back of her neck and was already heading back to the room when she heard his voice, low, almost a whisper.

"You are trying so hard not to believe in your destiny."

She stopped in her tracks, not really in the mood to engage in conversation, but finding it impossible not to offer a retort. "You are trying so hard to believe in it blindly."

Shifting on the chair, Kylo Ren turned around to face her and their eyes locked.

"You feel it as clearly as I do," he said, his voice even. "From the second we met, even before then, you have been drawn to me. Just because you despise everything I stand for and represent, it doesn't mean that what you are feeling is not real. This is bigger than either of us and you know it."

Rey found his presumption irritating and tried to convince herself that his words didn't have a shred of validity, that the 'attraction' he perceived was merely a mixture of fear and fascination towards the unknown. She lowered her head to avoid his piercing stare, but that only made her feel even more vulnerable, her aggravation in turn increasing exponentially.

Kylo Ren stood up and began to close the distance between them. "There's a part of you that finds the Dark Side too enticing to resist," he continued, approaching her with deliberate slowness. "You try your best to hide it, but I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me." He flashed the faintest of smiles, his dark eyes pinning her in place. It wasn't a mind trick, she realized, but for some odd reason she found herself unable to move, frozen on the spot until he was just at an arm's length away. "As much as you try to fight it, the attraction keeps getting stronger…" He was now towering over her, his voice barely over a whisper. "I warned you, Scavenger."

She had no choice but to hold his stare, now so close she could almost see her own reflection in his eyes.

"About what?" she asked, refusing to feel intimidated.

"You should try harder to hate me."

The tone of his voice was at complete odds with the words he'd just spoken. The statement had not sounded like a warning at all. It had sounded like a plea. And suddenly, Rey understood…

"You want me to hate you," she frowned, unsure of whether she had been given access into his mind or had acquired the information through her own intuition. "It's the only way… If I give into these feelings… If I let myself care about you, it would derail any plans you might have had for me to join the Dark Side. Am I right?"

Had she not learned to read him over the past few days, she might have missed the slight twitch of his jaw, the quick shift in his eyes, and the subtle exhalation through barely parted lips.

" _Am I right_?!" she insisted angrily.

Ren shook his head from side to side slowly.

"No," he said quietly. "You have it all wrong. It's not so much about how you feel."

"Oh, really?" she scoffed. "Then what's all that about me needing to h—"

"IT'S ME WHO CAN'T…!" he roared, stunning them both.

And, for a moment, he looked as surprised and afraid as he had been in that cold and sterile interrogation room after she'd managed to gain access into his mind for the first time. Closing his eyes, he struggled to regain his composure. When he opened them again, he focused on an empty spot past her left shoulder, seemingly unable to make eye contact.

"It was easier when I could hear him inside my head," he said through clenched teeth. "Ever since I can remember, he's been guiding my thoughts, my tastes, my feelings… He's always been there in some form of another, like a mentor, like the father I never…" Ren swallowed hard a couple of times, resentment written all over his features. "He's gone now. Ever since we got here. It feels… strange."

“You don’t need it,” she assured him. “You don’t need _Him_!”

He regarded her carefully, his expression unreadable. She tried to pick up on what he was feeling, but he was tightly guarded, denying her access to even the tiniest emotion, unless… 

“You’ve been under his control for so long you no longer know _how_ to feel,” she whispered. 

He bit the inside of his cheek, his gaze shifting to the side, and Rey fought the urge to run her thumb over those creased brows, such a clear manifestation of his troubled mind. 

“I find solace in this numbness,” he whispered, voice cracking slightly. “I’m tired of living with the alternative.”

Rey took a step closer to him, wishing things had been different between them and blaming Snoke for how it all had turned out. She could feel the prickling of fresh tears as her vision blurred, and she lowered her head to hide them.

General Organa had never talked much about her lost son, but on the rare occasion she’d mention something in passing, she’d regarded Rey with the eyes of someone forever haunted by a painful past. She was well aware of the cruel grasp the supreme leader had on her son. As for Rey, she never guessed how far back the manipulation really went and, though not really shocked as to how early Snoke had dug his clutches into the boy's mind, she was saddened to discover it must have been while Ben was still an infant.

"Snoke has been using you all along," she told him with misdirected harshness. She chose anger over grief, partly because it was more empowering, but also in hopes she might shake him out of that funk that she found so disconcerting. "You are nothing but a pawn in his nasty scheme to destroy everything your family fought for!"

A shroud of darkness descended upon Ren's expression. He grabbed her arm so tightly, Rey was sure his fingers were leaving an imprint on the skin of her bicep. "Stop bringing up my family!" he hissed, barely an inch from her face. "You know _nothing_ about them!"

"Let go of my arm!"

The wild rollercoaster of emotions that was their relationship roared through the stillness of their earlier break. She was skewering him with cold, harsh eyes intended to pierce his very soul. Her stern request didn't have its desired effect. Rey noticed Ren's lips curl into a wicked smile and his gaze travel down to her lips. Before she had a chance to react, his mouth came crushing down on hers, hard and demanding. She squirmed against the sudden onslaught, twisting in his arms for a long moment, fighting a losing battle against his physical strength, against the conflicting sensation stirring deep below her belly. The heat of his breath tasted downright sinful. It made her head spin and her knees go weak. 

When he finally pulled back Rey stared at him wide eyed, partly furious, partly violated, partly something else entirely she'd rather not dwell into. It took her a couple of seconds to sober up before her hand flew across his face, connecting with his left cheek in a loud slap that broke the static silence. Kylo Ren simply looked down at her unperturbed, his expression serene, almost… smug.

"Sometimes you make it too easy, Scavenger," he grinned malevolently. "For a second there I had your bleeding heart in the palm of my hand."

With those words, Ren left her standing in the middle of the living area and disappeared inside the bedroom.

**[TBC…]**


	11. A Powerful Drug

Training began at dawn the following morning. They worked hard, pushing their minds and bodies to the limit, feeling the deep burning and satisfaction that comes with overexerted muscles. And with every passing second, Rey could feel the Force growing inside of her, becoming stronger, ready to be unleashed using careful control or, as Ren would prefer given the advantage of instant gratification, in an explosive outburst of raw emotion.

She hadn't returned to the bedroom after the odd encounter with Kylo Ren the night before. She had been rather confused and way too furious to stomach his presence, much less share a cot with him. So she had dozed on and off by the incandescent ashes of the hearth, wondering how much longer it would take them to get off that rock, fearing they might be in for the long haul. So, it suited her just fine that they hadn't spoken two words to each other during their arduous morning training. Even later at breakfast, the tension between them could be cut with a knife. Mac was discrete enough to pretend it wasn't there, but Nia kept looking at Kylo Ren with an accusatory frown, as if she had made up her mind as to who was at fault for the stiffness in the room. Not that he noticed, nor cared about, the weight of the blame as his fingers fiddled once again with that bright red gem that had fascinated him the day before. His interest, apparently, paled in comparison to that of Nia's, who kept eyeing the gem, alternating between zealous curiosity over the stone and condemning glares in Ren's direction.

"A troop of monties will be stopping by after high noon," Mac said casually after gulping down an entire cup of bantha's milk. "They'll be bringing a coupla of things that I'm sure belong to you."

Ren's interest was visibly piqued by the comment, but he remained silent. The crossguard lightsaber hadn't been returned to him yet, and Rey knew his patience had been stretched to the limit on that count. It wouldn't have been long before he set out to get it himself in a manner that might have been far from diplomatic, so the news came as a relief to her—and perhaps everyone else in that room. To her surprise, he hadn't attempted to recover Luke's lightsaber. Sure, she had kept it on her the entire time since they left the cell the day before, but he hadn't even so much as _hinted_ at retrieving it.

"Is there any way to send a signal into orbit from here?" Ren asked, though Rey could tell he pretty much knew the answer to that one. They both did.

"There used to be," Mac shrugged. "Before The Order destroyed our communications center downtown. Now all those devices are a useless heap of metal and wire. But you're welcome to go check them out if you're so inclined."

"Do you ever get any visitors here?" Ren inquired, his voice impassive.

"Not the type you'd want to stay for tea, if you know what I mean," the old man answered darkly. "O'course, every once in a while we get an unfortunate couple unlucky enough to have crashed on this remote rock."

The old man's joke fell quite flat considering the direness of their situation. So, as predicted, their chances of getting off that moon any time soon were slim to none. Still, someone was bound to look for them, if not on the part of the Resistance, then the Order. From what little Rey knew about supreme leader Snoke, he wasn't about to give up on his golden boy so easily. He'd been indoctrinating Ben Solo practically from birth, it was unlikely he'd let the efforts of a lifetime go to waste on a single incident and, as ill-fated as that silver lining appeared to be, it was Rey's only hope to get out of that desolate place at all.

Her eyes travelled to Kylo Ren, who was absently staring into his now empty cup, pondering on the exact same thing while he tapped the red gem gently over the wooden table. Nia sat across from them. She was organizing her board game, placing every peg and every gem in their designated spot with methodical calculation—pegs first, then gems, from almost white to yellow to dark orange. Then on to the colder colors: greens, turquoises, blues… All shades ranging from lightest to darkest, all set in their rightful place. _All_ shades… except red. Once again the girl sent a wistful glance over to Kylo's fidgety fingers, roamed fleetingly over the gem before turning her attention back to the game.

"How do you get those canyon miners to work for you?" Rey asked Mac, intrigued by the symbiotic relationship they seemed to share.

"They are natural hunters," Mac explained, "but we control the water. There are subterranean springs running below us. We have the technology to tap into them through a series of wells built several years back. It only rains a few days a year now, but this moon was probably a fertile land once upon a time."

"Those creatures inside the cells…" Rey wondered.

"Food, of course!" Mac answered matter-of-factly. "As you would've been had it not been for a lucky twist of fate."

"I highly doubt it," Ren growled with unconcealed haughtiness.

"Ah, yes…" Mac nodded. "Well, perhaps Force sensitive folk might be spared. As for the rest of us mortals, it is a good thing we can rely on the necessity of a commodity such as water for our survival."

"Well, I'm thankful for the vegetable garden out back," Rey said, disgusted by the thought of ever eating another dead creature for as long as she lived. "Back in Jakku where I grew up we had—"

The sound of a flock of roaring engines brought whatever she was going to say to a halt. She was about to ask Mac if the canyon miners had access to ground vehicles, speed racers by the sound of it, when she noticed the face of the old man was completely drained of color and his eyes overgrown with fear.

"Hurry!" Mac said to Rey as he stood up in a haste. "Take Nia and hide in the back!"

"What? _Why_?"

Kylo Ren appeared to be as puzzled as Rey, their frown mirroring each other's.

"DO AS I SAY!"

But it was already too late. A group of about eight thugs dressed in dark suede and well-worn leather entered the hut armed with guns, oversized knives and blasters. Their leader, by the looks of it, sported a nasty scar across his face, not unlike Kylo Ren's, except not as neatly drawn, and the obvious cause of his missing left eye.

"I see the family keeps growing, Mac," he rasped, his tone mocking. Then, eyeing Rey as a monty might look at a fresh piece of meat, he added, "I like what I see."

His malicious smile revealed a set of rotten teeth that made Rey almost gag. He approached her, eyes roaming up and down her entire body appreciatively, before turning to Mac once again.

"Where's my bounty?" he asked, calmly pacing around the room.

"We have a few barrels in the back," Mac said, failing to conceal the anxiety in his voice. "Take whatever you want and go!"

The thug's smile broadened as he walked over to where Rey stood with her fists clenched at her sides.

" _Whatever_ I want?"

Kylo Ren observed the scene quietly, way more relaxed than the situation warranted. And, when the leader of the pack grabbed Rey by the arm, pulling her hard into an unwanted embrace, Ren stopped Mac from intervening when the old man made an attempt to rush to her aid.

Another hoodlum went to pull Nia from behind the only pillar in the room where she had tried to hide, shoving her harshly to the ground and grinning at his boss for silent permission.

"Nia!" Mac cried. But, the moment he tried to help the defenseless girl, he sustained a blow to the stomach, inflicted by a third thug who rushed over to stop him.

"What about you, tough guy?" the leader said to Ren. "Are you gonna try somethin' funny, or would you rather sit back an' enjoy the show?"

Kylo Ren's gaze moved over to Rey, who stared back at him with anger and disgust.

_He really isn't going to lift a finger_ , she realized, rage building like hot lava.

A slow smile formed on Ren's lips, serene and enigmatic. "I think it's going to be quite a show," he answered sounding more amused than anything else, and multiplying Rey's fury by about a thousand.

The ruffians seemed initially taken aback by his nonchalance, but then their attention turned back to their victims, deeming the tall, dark haired man a null threat, yet still keeping at least four blasters trained on him just in case.  
Nia's whimper broke the momentary silence, and the one eyed man moved in to take his coveted prize. Rey, however, refused to be bullied by a bunch of inbred low lives. Instinctively, she sprang into action, her elbow connecting with the thug's stomach in one vicious blow, making him double over in pain and surprise. A second later, two of his lackeys practically jumped on top of her to prevent any further retaliation, only to find themselves on the ground with a broken nose and a broken clavicle respectively. The leader of the pack, recovering from shock and shaking with anger, lashed out against her with all his strength, missing his target by an inch when Rey swiftly swirled around and managed to hit him square on the temple with the first clay cup she snatched from the table.

It was only when she discovered from the corner of her eye that one of the thugs had climbed on top of Nia that she froze, the terror rippling through the child hitting her like a shot in the stomach. Her momentary hesitation allowed one of the bulkier thugs to grab her from behind and, to her utter frustration, finally managed to immobilize her.

"Let her go!" she warned the man who was pinning Nia down on the floor with his weight.

A roar of laughter boomed throughout the living area—the disturbing cacophony of the depraved. Mac kept trying to crawl over to the girl, kept getting kicked down with every attempt to reach her. Kylo Ren stood motionless to the side, a mere observer, unperturbed and impassive. The ire within Rey flickered hot red, burning with unprecedented intensity.

"I said, let her go!" she repeated darkly.

The tank of a man holding the girl's wrists with one hand looked up at her defiantly, a smirk twisting his ugly features. But then, in an instant, his expression changed from mocking to one of sheer and utter horror. He stood very still, looking into space as if he'd seen death itself coming to claim him. He convulsed once, and then started to gasp for air, clutching his throat as if that simple motion would make the task any less agonizing. The laughter that had lingered in the air a second before died down, giving way to a stunned silence only broken by the pathetic attempts by the distressed thug to get air into his lungs. Soon, those sounds also stopped, and the man slumped to the side like a heavy log.

His eyes were open, yet he saw nothing. He was dead.

Rey turned her attention to her next victim as she felt the power of the Force rush through her like never before. The rest of the group had retreated into the wall near the entrance, eyes and mouths wide open with shock and fear. It took a couple of seconds for the first one to react. He rushed out the door followed by a mob of his peers, pushing their way past the narrow entrance out into the canyon.

The last one wasn't fortunate enough to make it past the threshold, and found himself unable to command his legs to move, or even turn his head to see Kylo Ren approaching from behind.

"Where is your ship?!" Ren demanded.

"B—by the lowlands," the thug stuttered. "Ab—bout ten miles east of here."

The roaring of engines came to life as the rest of the group started their racers and sped down the canyon like bats out of hell. Rey was still reeling from the experience, her eyes trained on the man she'd just killed, terrified by the exhilaration that had washed over her as she had taken his life.

The Dark Side of the Force was indeed a powerful drug.

"Your friends will not wait for your return," Ren told the thug with a tinge of disappointment. "You're of no use to me."

With those words the other man began to choke, eyes bulging as he stared at his executioner in a panic during the last few seconds of his life. After a handful of agonizing gasps, his knees buckled and his inert body dropped to the ground with a loud thud.  
Ren then turned to the others in the room, eyebrow arched.

"Tell your monties dinner's on us."  
________________________________________  
Rey had spent the rest of the day in a daze. She still didn't have an accurate grasp of exactly _what_ had happened, or _how_ she had managed to exert such power over another person's life. She was still shocked as to how she had been able to simply _will_ someone to die just as easily as watching a multi-nutrient portion rise from a watered down powder. It wasn't right, and yet, it was the most incredible feeling she had ever experienced.

_A powerful drug…_

Nia had been sitting in a corner by the fire since the incident that morning. Mac had tried to get her to eat something, but the child had refused, opting instead to stare at the dancing flames for most of the day, numb and unmoving. On her part, Rey had switched from anger to confusion to regret and back to anger for hours. In the end, she blamed Kylo Ren for the whole fiasco.

_He could've stepped in! It shouldn't have happened the way it did!_

Ren had left right after the home invasion and been gone ever since. At sundown, Rey finally went in his search, infused by rage and the untamable desire to give him a piece of her mind. As she had suspected, she found him leaning against the same rock where he'd been sitting the last time and, once again, the dying rays cast a reddish glow over him.

"You bloody bastard!" she snarled, coming to a halt in front of him and standing as tall as she could. "You wanted me to tap into the Dark Side! You knew I wouldn't have any other choice!"

He looked at her tiredly for a moment, and a thin smile stretched across his face. "A Jedi always has a choice. Didn't Skywalker pound that concept into your mind _ad nauseam_?"

"Don't you dare patronize me! I… I wished a man dead and it happened!" she shouted furiously. "I _killed_ him without even laying a hand on him!"

"And now here you are," he sighed dejectedly, "blaming me for what you perceive as a shortcoming."

Rey clenched her fists tightly. "A _shortcoming_? I can't believe you'd—"

"Go away, Scavenger!" he growled. He raked a hand through his hair and, sounding a bit less impatient, he added, "Look, I need to be alone right now."

Something wasn't right. She expected to pick up a victorious vibe from him, or even one of self-righteousness, but all she perceived was a deep sense of… _shame… regret… failure…_?

_No. She had to be reading him wrong._

"Stop it…" he whispered, and Rey realized she had been openly surfing his mind.

"I thought you'd be pleased," she said, unsure as to why she even bothered to reason with him. "You finally got what you wanted."

He nodded slowly, his gaze set on the horizon. "The path into the Dark Side is plagued with bitter milestones."

He had uttered the words quietly, as if to himself.

Rey's perplexity surged. "I… I don't understand."

"No. You wouldn't."

It was strange. She didn't set out to search his thoughts, and yet, they somehow materialized in her mind, out of the blue, his guard down, no barriers to stop her from looking past the indifferent façade. What she saw made her stomach tighten and her heart clench.

"It pained you," she whispered in surprise. "Watching me use the Dark Side of the Force made you feel scared and worried _for_ me!"

Ren shifted against the rock, his gaze downcast. "The Dark Side comes at a high price," he said listlessly. "It can be ruthless and excruciating. I guess I didn't want you to…" He was clearly struggling to get the words out, battling with an avalanche of conflicting emotions. In the end, the scale tilted to the side of the unexpected. "You can still turn away from it."

The statement came out reluctantly, but he obviously meant every word. It wasn't a trick or a gimmick. He was speaking from the heart, his emotions bare for Rey to see. He was extending an olive branch to her, one she would be foolish to refuse.  
"You can turn away from it too," she assured him. "There's still light in you, I can feel it. I can see it!"

He let out a bitter chuckle saturated with grief and remorse, his answer lost in that noncommittal gesture.

"Ben…"

The moment she called his name she felt the sudden pang of guilt piercing through his chest, sharp as a spear. Rey went to stand in his line of vision, but he kept his gaze low, refusing to make eye contact.

"Look at me," she said softly.

It took him a couple of seconds and all of his inner strength to meet her eyes, and the conflict and suffering she saw in those hazel depths caused her to draw in a quiet breath. He looked lost, haunted by tortuous images and memories wished forgotten, but that kept lingering in his mind, gliding in the darkest corners of his thoughts like ghosts.

"It's too late." He repeated the words he had told his father right before driving a lightsaber through his chest. It had been the truth then, and it was even more so now. "I've destroyed too many lives… He promised it would get easier, that once I took that final step these feelings would cease, that I would no longer be drawn to the light, but he was wrong. Killing my f… _him_ only made me feel emptier. The pull to the light is still there, still out of reach."

"Why are you fighting it?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Because darkness is all I have left." He was once again unable to meet her eyes. He paused, lost in a memory for a long moment, guilt ridden and at a loss for words. “There’s no turning back now. You of all people should realize that.”

She wanted to tell him that it was all in the past, that he could change his destiny if he really wanted to, but she didn't really believe it to be true. He was right. Too much had happened. Too much destruction. Too much pain and suffering had been inflicted.  
_Too much darkness unleashed…_

And yet, as she stood before him and studied him carefully, head bowed and suffocating under those life-altering memories, Rey couldn't help but see him as another victim in his own tragic story.

_Bring him back…_

"Han never stopped believing in you," she told him. “His love for you never truly died.”

When he refused to acknowledge her words, she placed the palm of her hand on his cheek, prompting him to look at her face in hopes he would see the truth in her eyes. Instead, she saw his brimming with unshed tears. “I no longer have the strength to fight it,” he choked out. “I keep hoping for the light to fade, but it never does. Sometimes I think things would be easier if I just…” He didn’t finish the thought. He didn’t have to. Rey knew where his thoughts had travelled and bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. 

_No… He wouldn’t take the coward’s way out._

“You know that’s not the answer,” she said through a lump in her throat. 

“Isn’t it?” 

He offered her a sad smile that she didn’t return. Horrified, she simply shook her head slowly from side to side, not trusting her own voice. It was strange how a week ago she would have felt completely differently about that option, and now… Rey wiped her left eye just in time to catch a salty drop from trailing down her cheek. 

“Are those tears for me?” he asked softly. And though she thought for a moment he might be mocking her, his expression was solemn, almost tender. “The monster who abducted you?”

Her lips curled into a watery smile. “Life is full of surprises, I guess,” she replied, unable to deny it.

A strange sense of need descended upon both, raw and primal—an invisible blanket that pulled them together like opposite poles on a magnet. Neither bothered to fight it and, in that surreal moment, their lips met.

A spark ignited deep below Rey's belly at that instant. It shot right to her nerve endings making her entire body vibrate and her skin tingle. She was surprised by the softness of his lips, the tenderness of the kiss, the gentle hand that had come to rest by the side of her neck, the thumb that brushed her cheek with feathered strokes. They allowed for that initial indecision to linger, letting the moment build on its own with exquisite slowness.

It was Rey who finally deepened the kiss, craving the warmth and taste of his mouth, slightly sweet, slightly musky, distinctively dark. He responded to her in kind, his tongue as playful as her demands in that game that had drowned all their differences in a sea of unexpected passion.

A deep moan escaped from Rey's throat, and she pressed her body against him, needing to seal the short distance between them.

As if burned by a hot rod, he sharply pulled back, breaking the kiss and keeping her at arm's length.

"Stop…" he panted, his cheeks flushed.

Her arousal turned to confusion. "Stop?"

He was regarding her through thick lashes, a dreamy look that managed to melt away the last remnants of the frozen barrier she'd erected when around him. Their faces were still inches apart, his warm breath caressing her lips as he struggled to grasp at the last vestiges of self-restraint.

"I can't do this, Rey."

_Rey…_

Hearing her name on his lips—the emotion behind his plea—brought a sudden lump to her throat and her eyes began to burn once again.

"But… you _kissed_ me last night."

"That wasn't me," he assured her. "Nor was it a kiss, it was a provocation. This… this is _different_."

Rey bit her lower lip, her mind trying hard to understand his reasoning, to understand _him!_

"What are you so afraid of, Ben?"

He regarded her quietly for several seconds, the reddish reflection of the disappearing suns making his eyes sparkle in golden tones. His answer hovered in the cool evening air, swirled around them to the tune of the light breeze.

"Of what I'm beginning to feel for you."

**[TBC…]**


	12. Worthy Opponents

As Mac had promised, the monties had brought a sac full of artefacts ranging from rudimentary carved sticks in the form of lances to highly elaborate weapons such as _hold-out_ and other type of blasters. The crossguard saber had been amongst the numerous pieces included in their priced collection. Few of the blasters had any ammo left, but Mac found them a fair trade worth sparing a few gallons of water and, considering the regular visits by the likes of the group of pirates the day before, the transaction was completely justified.

Rey didn't have much of an appetite after their return from the canyon. She had joined the group for dinner just to be polite, and retired to her quarters immediately after. Through the door, she'd heard Mac and Kylo Ren talking, their muffled voices lulling her to sleep. She spent most of the night submerged in strange dreams she couldn't remember upon waking. Impossible to chase images of Luke and the island evaporated from her thoughts like smoke, as well as those of Kylo Ren… or had it been Ben Solo?

Sometime before dawn, Rey found herself awake and staring at the ceiling. Once again, she had slept alone in the cot. A cold, empty space beside her indicated Ren had opted to sleep elsewhere, if at all. She wasn't sure she could blame him. Her mind automatically traveled to the previous evening, how they both had let a dangerous physical attraction get the better of them. And, as much as she tried to ignore it, the memory of that kiss kept coming back to haunt her: the way his lips had softly moved over hers, the warmth of his hand on the side of her face, his gentle caress, the lush flavor of his mouth… A wave of arousal swept over her and she squeezed her eyes shut, pushing it aside along with a spark of some deeper emotion she refused to dwell into. 

Angry with herself, Rey rolled out of bed and got dressed in a haste. She wasn't sure how much longer it would be until daybreak. It was still dark outside when she stepped into the living area and found Ren sitting by the fire, carefully polishing his precious red gem with a small laser cutter, courtesy of the treasure trove the monties had left the day before. The crossguard lightsaber lay dismantled beside him, the cracked Kyber crystal exposed at the heart of its hilt.

"Today we'll use lightsabers during our training," he informed her, his focus still on the small stone in his hand. "Make sure your weapon is in good condition."

He hadn't even turned around to face her. It was just his way, she supposed—distant and aloof. Rey pulled her saber out of the holster and inspected its extension and blade holder. "I was testing it out yesterday," she said. "It shone a bit duller than usual."

"Let me see it," Ren said, this time turning to her.

She hesitated for a moment, fearing it might be a trick on his part to steal her saber once again, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Conning her into giving him something was not really his style. If he really wanted it, he would have used a more direct approach either by fighting her for it, or simply snatching it while she slept.

Rey handed him the lightsaber and sat beside him. He studied every spec of the hilt, tilted it and scrutinized every nook and cranny before finally igniting it. The blade vibrated in bright blue, its static sound filling the early morning silence. Ren examined its length and intensity, the energy of the weapon that had once defeated him reflecting off his eyes like it had once, so long ago now… The light and sound of the blade was absorbed by its hilt the moment Ren extinguished the saber.

"It looks okay to me," he stated, handing it back to her. "The problem probably lies with its wielder."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, wounded by his assumption.

Ren lifted his left shoulder in a half shrug, his attention back on the laser cutter. "You've had that thing with you since I gave it back a couple of days ago in the cavern," he began, his voice mellow, "yet you let those thugs overpower you yesterday when you could have easily used it against them."

"Do I need to remind you they were all armed with blasters?" she retorted defensively. "Or that they had a little girl a trigger pull away from her death while you just stood by and did nothing to prevent it?"

"Relax, Scavenger," he almost smirked. "Nothing was going to happen to you or the girl."

His words struck a nerve with her. How dared he undermine the situation they'd all been forced to endure by his lack of action? She was about to deliver a sour response when, out of the blue, she managed to feel the assurance that he hadn't spoken.

_I wouldn't have allowed it…_

It baffled her just how easily he could throw her off balance. He was so full of contradictions sometimes it made her head spin. She supposed that was part of what made him dangerous. Just when darkness seemed to have consumed him, a ray of light shone through making her defenses crumble and rendering her vulnerable to his odd charm. But she could see a certain vulnerability in him as well. He had pretty much _professed_ it to her the day before. Dealing with his conflicting personalities disconcerted her and, to her surprise, she felt more comfortable talking to Kylo Ren than to Ben Solo. At least talking to the monster prevented her from pondering on the feelings that had begun brewing inside her for his alter ego.

Ren blew the dust off the gem and inspected it one last time under the light of the fire. He then measured the narrow slit left by the Kyber crystal inside the hilt of his saber against the thickness of the gem and, not quite satisfied yet, inserted the stone in his pocket.

"Are you ready?" he asked, expertly assembling the lightsaber in record time.

"Are you?" she shot back, reminding him without words that the last time they dueled she was the one who had wiped him out.

He stood up and regarded her evenly, a slight shadow of wounded pride flashing across his eyes. "Trust me, had I really wanted to kill you that night in the forest, I would have."

"Really?" she defied, standing up to make their height difference less obvious. "So, why didn't you?"

His eyes trailed down to her throat, sensed her quickening pulse through her jugular, and then met her eyes once again. "You know why," he answered, his expression unreadable.  
________________________________________  
The first rays of sunrise found them facing each other in the canyon, lightsabers ready to ignite. It was Kylo Ren who sparked his first. He swirled the blade around him, drawing a circle of light by his side before standing on guard, awaiting for Rey to bring her own saber to life. The moment she did, he charged, forcing her to go on the defensive right away.

"What have I told you about giving your opponent the chance to attack first?" he berated as their blades locked on a brief standoff.

His condescension enraged her enough to push back, retaliating against his attacks blow for blow in a dance of light and shadows that, to a mere observer, would have appeared perfectly choreographed. As the morning progressed their initial drive began to diminish, and after a while their stamina wavered, leaving them sweating and panting with every strike. Drained by the prolonged effort, they eventually called the duel a tie and took a break to hydrate and allow their bodies to briefly recover.

"You're a natural with the saber, Scavenger," he praised, still trying to get his breathing under control. "I must say I'm having a harder trouble defeating you than I had anticipated. You had a good teacher. I see Luke has taught you a few useful Jedi moves."

"I thought you didn't much care for your uncle," she said, also breathing raggedly.

"I don't," Ren admitted, "but I still respect him as a Force user. Plus, he was trained by a great Jedi Master."

"I know! I wish I could've met Master Yoda," Rey said wistfully. "Luke obviously holds him in very high esteem."

"I was referring to your grandfather, Obi Wan."

"Oh…" she blinked, the information hitting her with unexpected bluntness.

"He never told you." Ren lifted an eyebrow, the disdain towards his uncle clear in that simple gesture. "I'm not surprised. He's great at keeping secrets. Just as he concealed your identity from you all these months while you trained as his padawan, am I right?"

Rey didn't have an answer as to why Luke might have not told her about her lineage to Ben Kenobi. She even toyed with the idea that Ren might have lied to her regarding her ancestry, but her instincts knew better than to deny the connection. Somehow she had always known there was something special about her, had always felt that distinctive link to her past.

"Don't try to figure him out," he advised her. "You'll make yourself crazy."

"Well, that is something you both have in common, then."

To her utter shock, Ren smiled—he actually smiled! There was no trace of his usual evilness behind it, either, just genuine amusement that reached all the way to his eyes. But the moment he caught her staring his grin gradually faded, giving way to mixed feelings and an awkward silence.

"Ready to continue?" he asked, his voice subdued.

She nodded, this time firing up her saber first, which prompted him to immediately follow suit. They engaged right away, no room for talking or analyzing the unforeseen thawing of his demeanor. The brutal blows, as they were dished out and reciprocated, gave them hardly any chance to breathe, let alone ponder on the perilous direction in which their personal relationship seemed to be heading. Ren used the momentum of a body swirl to strike across Rey's blade, which she barely managed to sustain by taking a step back and leaning her full weight forward. Her only way out of the saber lock unscathed was to push against his saber and spin to the side, but her foot got stuck in between two rocks and she stumbled, almost falling to the ground had it not been for the strong hand that grabbed her wrist, helping her regain her balance. She stared at him for a fraction of a second and then she swiped her leg across the back of his, causing his knees to buckle and using all her strength in that moment of limited stability to drag him down. The instant his back hit the ground she dug her knee into his sternum, the incandescent blue of her blade hovering dangerously close to his neck.

"Never give into your enemy's weakness, Ren!"

He was breathing heavily, looking at her silently with a mixture of awe and pride. His damp hair stuck to his forehead, his eyes had grown darker, his pupils dilated with excitement, with… _arousal_. Rey felt it too. The overwhelming physical need barely contained behind a mask of indifference. She slowly moved the saber away from his neck, extinguishing its blade once her arm had reached her side. Her other hand was firmly pressed against his shoulder in a symbolic attempt to immobilize him, not that he was struggling in the least. They held each other's gaze, allowed themselves to drown into each other's mind for one brief, ethereal moment.

"Get off me, Scavenger," Ren whispered sounding very unconvincing.

His mouth said one thing, but his body, his _mind_ , screamed something completely different.

"You're going to have to fight me off," she told him sternly.

"Training's over!" he hissed, anger gripping at his voice. "I mean it! Get off!"

"No!"

Before she knew what was happening he had rolled them over and now it was she who lay on her back, his weight pinning her down, his hands holding her wrists at either side of her head.

"Didn't you listen to a word I said yesterday!" he roared. His features turned hard once again, and the blazing fury in his eyes made Rey flinch inwardly. "Stop playing with fire!"

"You're holding back because you care," she said tightly. "I want to bring you back into the light, but I keep feeling the pull to the Dark Side. It's getting easier and easier to stare into that abyss and it terrifies me! I'm trying to resist it, to resist _him_ , but it is almost impossible because every time I look at him now I see _you_."

Their gaze clashed—hers refusing defeat, his lit with an intensity that was hard to read. The electric charge around them made the air vibrate and the ground slightly rattle: the energy of the combined sides of the Force converging in one single spot.

Torn apart, Kylo Ren tightened his grip on Rey's wrists and closed his eyes. For better or worse, his fate had been sealed.

**[TBC…]**


	13. I'll Follow You Into the Dark

When he opened his eyes again, it was Ben Solo who stared quietly at Rey. All the guilt and anguish Kylo Ren so easily disguised behind his malevolent façade was bare for her to see. And, what she saw, made something inside her quiver. He was _petrified_ —scared to death that the path to the light would negate all previous sacrifices, a lifetime of difficult choices, painful losses and unfortunate circumstances.

Ominous clouds gathered above them and threatened with a rarity such as rain on that barren canyon. She reached up to touch his face, ran a tender fingertip along the scar that had branded him as her mortal enemy not so long ago. A tangent reminder of that eternal divide between the Light and the Dark Side.

"Don't be afraid, I feel it too," she whispered.

He understood right away, just as she had once upon a time: the empty loneliness, the longing to find meaning to an otherwise pointless existence, the desperate need to connect with someone who would understand...

"I should've been immune to the light," he said, eyes brimming. "Finding you was a curse, and now I'm afraid we'll both have to pay for my weakness."

Her thumb ran across his bottom lip slowly. There was infinite tenderness in her touch as the palm of her hand then slid along his jaw and curled behind his neck where she laced her fingers in between the dark locks before firmly clutching her fist around them. He didn't need further encouragement to dip his head and claim her mouth with an intensity that surprised her, given his initial reluctance. His lips pried hers open and his tongue pushed through—a brutal assault had she not been a willing participant to his unrestrained lashing. Her response was equally fervent as she met him stroke for avid stroke.

The approaching rumble of thunder rolled through the canyon, and a light drizzle began to pepper the ground around them. Ben broke the kiss to fumble with the sash around Rey's waist, his frustration growing as the stubborn knot failed to give way. A bit amused, yet way too impatient for him to figure out how to work around it, Rey decided to take charge and pulled the entire robe over her head, throwing the garment unceremoniously to the side and ignoring the roughness of the ground as she lay naked before him.

He looked deeply into her eyes, hesitant to allow his gaze to roam down the rest of her body for a long moment. She soon realized he was brushing past the surface of her mind, not so much invading it, but… _caressing_ it. It was an odd, yet pleasant, sensation that kept growing stronger with every heartbeat. Rey let out a shuddering breath and struggled to hold his resolute stare until the feeling became so intense, she was unable to stop her eyelids from drooping shut. Her head tilted back, a grimace of delight flashing across her face when a spontaneous spark of energy ignited all her physical senses at once, making her feel more alive than she ever had.

A quiet whimper of joy gave him the green light to bury his face in the hollow of her neck, where he began kissing his way down the tender path with tortuous slowness: her throat, her collarbone... His tongue would lick at the salty skin as it trailed down, magically finding every single erogenous spot that caused her to squirm with arousal under his weight. When his lips made it to the core of her left breast she gasped, the contrast of the cool rain against the warmth of his breath causing her back to arch. She longed for his touch, so soft—even delicate—it kept sending violent shivers up her spine. He took his time, paying careful attention to his meticulous ministrations, making sure not to leave a single spot unattended as she withered helplessly beneath him.

To both her disappointment and her delight, his lips continued their gradual trek down her ribs, past the contour of her hip, across her lower abdomen and below... The instant his mouth reached its desired destination, her body bowed off the ground and she tensed up, eyes flashing open with surprise and anticipation. His mouth began to tease her mercilessly, his hands searing hot against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. The pleading cry that escaped her throat got devoured by fast approaching thunder. As her moans went in crescendo, her breathing became increasingly ragged. She wasn't sure how much more she could take of such exquisite torture, her looming implosion now imminent.

Both her fists had a tight grip on his hair, not so much to guide his movements, but as an anchor to the physical world. A world that seemed to evaporate further into oblivion with every slight suction of his mouth or eager lap of his tongue. A tight moan ripped through her parted lips, deep and desperate and unrecognizable to her own ears.

Rain was now pouring hard, vicious pellets pounding on them, the dusty sand of the canyon slowly turning into mud. He suddenly pulled away and she found herself sobbing a desperate 'no', feeling utterly bereft as his warmth was replaced by the harsh coldness of the rain. He offered her a half smile in silent reassurance while he peeled off his soaked through shirt and trousers. A bolt of lightning fired up the sky, illuminating his naked form for a second before he dove down to claim her mouth once again to the strident sound of nearby thunder.

Her hips pumped upward, searching for contact, desperate to feel his skin against her own. So, he granted her wish. A sudden stab of pain, fast and sharp, left her out of breath as he penetrated both her body and her mind simultaneously. She exhaled a short gasp, and her nails dug into his shoulder blade hard enough to break the skin. Suspended above reality in a moment of agonizing uncertainty, she was unable to tell apart the raindrops from her tears.

_Open up to me, Rey…_

The unspoken command was enough to prompt her to breathe, her body slowly relaxing under his embrace, her mind easing into the ethereal space they now shared. As the initial onslaught of acute pain began morphing into pleasure, Rey's eyes fluttered open and she found him watching her intently, his expression a mixture of lust and concern. He stood very still, gauging her desire to stop or willingness to continue. Only when her lips curled into a weak, mildly encouraging smile, did he bend down to softly kiss the crease of her mouth, gently driving into her once again and causing ripples of sheer delight to course through every nerve ending in her body.

Rey could sense his strong heartbeat drumming to the same tune as her own, the colors staining his mind bursting in bright reds and warm yellows... But she could also sense the menacing darkness lurking in the background, bursting to take over, barely restrained by the erratic strands of light that still shone inside him waging an incessant battle against extinction. As frightening and foolish as it was, a small part of her wondered what would happen if he were to unleash his darker side and let Kylo Ren take over. She blushed with excitement, her arousal surging wildly at the thought.

A wave of crimson pushed through her musings like a powerful firestorm.

_You want me to release the monster._

She wasn't sure whether it had been a question or an accusation, but her response came out almost automatically.

"No…"

The lie lingered between them, wavering with each deliberate thrust of his hips, awaiting a rebuttal that never came. They had already crossed a dangerous line. A line that could be easily exacerbated by her darkest desires. There was no turning back now, and all she had to do was say the word.

A subtle shift in pace brought Rey's mind into focus, pulled her back into the light. He had dragged her back on purpose when the clutches of temptation had been overwhelming enough to touch her soul. He was actually _shielding_ her from the Dark Side.

But... _why_?

Soon their movements turned fluid and perfectly synchronized. Their minds merged through the same Force prism, creating a unique bond that went beyond the realm of any physical reality, and all those sensations Rey was experiencing for the first time kept building, growing steadily until they became all consuming. She cried out his name, no longer aware of the rain, the hard terrain or the chilling bite of the light breeze. All that existed at that very moment were the infinite number of silent chords forging that connection. A private song only they were able to hear.

_Come out from the shadows …_

Ecstasy exploded into a thousand different colors, spreading in waves of liquid pleasure that radiated from deep below Rey's belly, and flooded her body down to the very last cell. A strained moan that sounded a lot like a prayer drowned in the depths of their melding mouths, his own savage groan ripping through their climax as they steadily emerged from their secluded moment.

The storm tore through the canyon, its wrath reverberating through its tall walls in angry ripples. Rey held onto him, her breath coming out in ragged spurts that she was trying hard to get under control. Head pressed against his torso, she could feel his chest heaving just as violently. Both their bodies were covered in water and sweat, still trembling from the recent strain and release, and she wished the moment would stretch just a bit longer.

His eventual retreat left a void inside her. He handed her the muddy robe and stepped into his trousers without saying a word.

Now that it was all over she couldn't help but wonder if he might have any regrets. His silence was disconcerting, although it was difficult to fathom him not sensing the undeniable connection that had been created between them. Their bond had ran too deep, had been way too real to be concealed behind a simple mask—physical or otherwise. And just when she thought he'd crawl back into the skin of his apathetic self, his hand reached out to cup her cheek and his fingers brushed away a wet strand of hair from her face.

"We should head back," he said, blinking against the rain.

Rey nodded, then tilted her head and leaned into his touch almost against her will. Such a strange a thing to crave now, especially for someone who had always recoiled from the blanket of intimacy. Her lips broke into a shy smile as they both stood up, blushing slightly at the sight of the fresh, red tracks across his shoulder blade. He turned around and caught her staring.

"Some things will never change, Scavenger," he said. And, though his eyes were as dark as she'd ever seen them, they sparked with a strange new glimmer. "There's no way I'm ever going to come out of our encounters unscathed, is there?"

His tone had been light, but there was an underlying emotion that she couldn't quite decipher. Rey tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear, unsure as to what was causing the invisible barrier between them, wondering if she might just be imagining things. Another volt of lightning struck just a few feet from where they were standing, the deafening sound of whipping thunder a fraction of a second behind it.

"What's wrong?" she asked over the uneven sound of wind and rain.

"I warned you about the seductive nature of the Dark Side," he answered against the tempest. His skin appeared even paler under the violet light of the storm, his hair and his eyes impossibly dark in stark contrast. "You got too close to the edge."

"It was tempting," she admitted.

"I told you, you're playing with fire!"

"Ben—"

The sinister intensity behind his eyes rattled her, and what he said next made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"That's not the name you cried out just moments ago."

**[TBC…]**


	14. Behind the Mirror

The storm persisted for the rest of the day, cruel and unrelenting. Mac busied himself in the kitchen, working on a hot meal while Rey and Nia sat close to the fireplace. The wooden board game with its stone pegs and its gems was a convenient distraction from the dreadful weather, from the enclosing walls... from _Kylo Ren_.

He had been sitting quietly at the opposite end of the room, polishing the red stone with meticulous accuracy, the patience poured over such a task most likely a byproduct of the limited options of their confinement.

A small generator had heated up enough water for them to wash up in the tiny bathroom after their return from the canyon. They had changed out of their muddy clothes and into their now clean robes and tunics and, even though the attire didn't make the man, Rey couldn't help but see a _Knight of Ren_ under the dark layers of fabric. She kept sending furtive glances his way, unable to come to terms with what had transpired between them earlier that day. He had been cold and distant ever since, the barrier around his thoughts and feelings tightly guarded, and she hadn't ventured to ask for a reason or an explanation, much less attempt to access his mind uninvited.

Still, her treacherous thoughts traveled to that moment, glided over the way he had held her, the gentleness of his guidance, the special bond that had fused them, both in body and soul. And, in that incredible moment of release, her lips had uttered a name… Through the fog of such an experience she honestly couldn't be certain who she had called for. It didn't make sense, she was aware of him the entire time, he had been her sail and her anchor.

_Ben…_

Of course, the enticing presence of the Dark Side had lurked in the background the entire time, hovered over them like an invisible blanket, wrapped around every movement, every breath, every word...

_Ren…_

It was undeniable. The gravitational pull of the Dark Side was a powerful drug, and she was finding it harder and harder to resist it. The mere thought of the monster within him made her pulse pick up speed, her mind reel and her cheeks burn.

_Stop playing with fire!_

His warning resonated loudly in the rational part of her brain, and yet, every time her eyes traveled to where he sat, the reddish glow of the fire reflecting off his austere expression, Rey couldn't help but feel the rush of excitement that inexplicably swept through her every time he looked at him now. Wariness and desire collided in a powerful emotion, contradicting in itself, but completely overpowering. Her yearning was carnal at its core, she realized as much. Not that she could make any sense of it.

_You should hate me…_

Perhaps that was the bait. She was keenly aware of what Kylo Ren had in store for the Scavenger. Scary as it was, that only inflamed her darkest desires. He was a worthy adversary, and there was no better battlefield than the physical realm, whether in bed or in combat. As it turned out, it was those gray areas that made their dynamic so odd and complex. Rey had suspected it for some time, had been fighting it all along, but she was finally forced to come to terms with the reality of her feelings that morning in the canyon.

She was falling in love with Ben Solo.

It was strange. Until that moment, she didn't really know what it meant to really love someone in a non-platonic way, to share that unique kind of connection. A while back she thought she might have loved Finn. He was her knight in shining armor, the one who would risk it all to come to her aid, who would sacrifice his life to save hers. And she _did_ love Finn. She loved him dearly. He had been her solid ground when the world had all but crumbled around her, both physically and figuratively. But, perfect as Finn was in all respects, he hadn’t been able to touch that hidden part of her soul. And, while Kylo Ren had managed to caress its surface, it had been Ben Solo who had finally blasted through the fortress she’d so ardently erected around her heart, turning it to rubble with a simple smile. 

A series of faint taps on the table brought her back to the present. Nia regarded her with curious eyes, a knowing smile playing on her lips. She'd caught Rey staring at him, her emotions so close to the surface even a prepubescent child had been able to pick up on them.

"Was it my turn?" Rey apologized, trying to study the position of the pegs on the board.

Nia's broadening smile flowed into a small chuckle as her gaze traveled to Ren for a brief moment and then back to Rey.

"No," Rey sighed. "I'd much rather play with you right now."

But the girl sent her a look that spoke volumes and began packing the game away. Before Rey could convince her otherwise, the sound of the crossguard lightsaber sparking to life cut through the air. Something about it was different, though. Its typical jagged sound had been replaced by a neat, almost hollow swoosh. Its blade was no longer crudely serrated, but a clean line of incandescent red, straight and perfectly shaped. Even its side vents, though not any less deadly, seemed somewhat tamer. Rey was at awe by its elegant beauty. That small and unimpressive red stone had managed to turn the notoriously imperfect weapon into a true masterpiece. When Kylo Ren extinguished the saber, a mild frown denoted his dissatisfaction. He carefully dismantled the hilt and extracted the shapely stone before assembling the saber once again without it. Nia followed his every move, her eyes focused like laser pointers on the small gem that Ren kept studying and twirling around his fingers. Without saying a word, he stood up, and tucked the polished stone inside one of his tunic’s inner pockets.

Rey was about to say something when all artificial lights in the hut suddenly shut down and, save for the licking flames of the fire dancing on the small hearth, the place was enveloped in silence and darkness.

Mac's acrid voice was immediately heard from the kitchen. "It's the damned generator!" he snarled. "Probably got hit by lightning!"

"Do we even need a generator?" Ren questioned. "Can't we just ride the storm without one?"

"The storm could last for several days, boy!" Mac retorted. "Without the twin suns, the temperature will steadily drop until there's nothing out there but ice. We need to keep the greenhouse warm or the crops will be ruined. We… we need to be able to heat up water, run the well systems, the—"

"Can it be fixed?" Ren cut in rather harshly. It was obvious he'd rather find a solution than listen to the other man's useless rambling.

"If it was a lightning strike, I highly doubt it," Mac said. "But there is an old abandoned gristmill on the west side of town that might have a couple of spare ones." The old man rubbed his forehead and barked an angry curse. "I've been meaning to get a backup generator for some time just in case something like this ever happened!"

Kylo Ren holstered his lightsaber and headed for the exit. "Let's go, then."

When Mac took a couple of steps in the same direction, Ren lifted his hand to stop him. "No," he commanded. "You stay here with the girl." Then, turning to Rey, he motioned for her to follow him.

"But you don't even know where the mill is located," the man began to protest when he suddenly became momentarily paralyzed, eyes wide with pain. It was over before he realized what had happened, and was left slightly weakened as his fingers flew to his temples and began rubbing out the throbbing headache.

"I do now," Ren said coldly.

Rainfall had intensified to the point where it was completely dark in the middle of the afternoon, the chilling temperature cutting to the bone through their already soaked clothes. They had earlier combined the fuel from the two speed racers the pirates had left behind into one in an attempt to make longer trips. Ren was about to hop on it first when Rey stopped him.

"Why should _you_ be the one to drive?" she shouted over the storm.

"Because I know where we're going!"

Unable to argue with his reasoning, Rey begrudgingly hopped on the racer and held him tightly around the waist as the machine took off leaving a blaze of fluorescent blue in its wake. It took them just a few minutes to get to the nearly dilapidated gristmill, which had a big enough roofed area at the entrance to shelter both them and the speeder from the rain. They dismounted the speeder and lit up their sabers, finding them a convenient source of illumination as well as a form of immediate protection should a threat happened to be lurking in the shadows.

"This is your area of expertise, Scavenger," Ren said. "Where do you suppose they keep their generators?"

"If this place is anything like a larger commuter ship, probably in a cool, dry place. Somewhere with good ventilation, most likely a peripheral storage room with outside vents."

Rey led the way into the building, scouting the place for possible options. "I remember my first decent find," she said, pushing a fallen beam out of the way. "I was about twelve, had just began scavenging a few months before because I figured that was the best way to make a living on Jakku, especially near the Niima Outpost. It was an RX synchronizer in almost perfect order. I could not believe my eyes when I found it. It earned me a full portion and a half. I managed to stretch it for days!" She could hear Ren following close behind her, his mood somber. "Of course, my dream has always been to become a pilot. I learned all I could about aircraft navigation from the fallen ships I'd scavenge. Some even had captain logs and crew notes…" Her lips turned into a sad smile at the bittersweet memories. "What about you? Did you ever want to be anything other than a ruthless murderer?"

The jab had come out naturally and unfiltered, and she winced inwardly, immediately regretting her untimely comment. She sensed how her words had stirred something inside him, something he concealed as fast as it had emerged. 

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I shouldn't have said that." When the silence became almost unbearable, she rambled on, if nothing else, to try and lighten the mood. "But, in an alternate universe, do you see yourself leading an entirely different life? I mean, you work well with your hands."

"I do?"

His tone had been neutral, but the innuendo came through loud and clear, and Rey felt a sudden rush of heat shoot up to her cheeks. He had done it on purpose. He wanted to throw her off balance.

"Your father was a great mechanic," she said, trying to ignore his laden comment as best as she could. "Perhaps you could've followed in his footsteps."

"Do you ever get tired of talking?" he growled.

To Rey's surprise, she sensed how the mention of his father was an open wound for him. She turned around to face him and he almost bumped into her, his bewildered expression as he gazed down at her an open question mark. Unable to hold his stare for long, she lowered her chin and focused on the ground for a moment before finding the courage to meet his eyes once again. 

"I imagine some demons seem impossible to exorcise," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't think I could ever forgive you for what you did, but… but I know Han did."

Her words had trembled on the way out, but she had kept her shoulders square, her focus firmly on him. Ren appeared disconcerted for a second, the ice behind his notoriously cold stare melting into what Rey could have sworn was the faint flicker of tears. Whatever it might have been, he quickly masked it behind a deep scowl. Jaw clenched, he simply brushed past her, his voice sour as he said, "An expert on a field."

Rey blinked a couple of times, was at a loss when she turned to him, confused. " _Excuse me_?"

"I would've been something mundane, out of the constant spotlight," he explained sounding almost bored. "I don't know… a radar technician."

They walked through a large chamber with a wall of shattered mirrors at the far end that had barely survived a vicious blast. One of the less tattered mirrors caught their reflection showered in red and blue respectively, and their eyes met their imaged counterpart. They were both soaking wet from the rain. Blazing sabers in hand, they appeared to be on opposite sides of the battle. Ren's damp hair and disheveled attire was reminiscent of a time when they had been mortal enemies, the image sending a ripple of fractured memories through her.

He came up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist, careful not to nick her with the burning blade. Unaware of his intentions, Rey tensed up immediately, her breath catching and her heart picking up speed.

"Relax," he said intimately near her ear, and then, in a barely audible whisper, "Will you ever stop fearing me?"

"I don't fear you," she whispered back. "I don't fully trust you... I don't trust _myself_ around you."

His lips turned into a wicked half smile that gradually vanished into an expression of honest concern. "What do you remember from when you were a small child?" he asked, his voice soft. "Before you were left behind."

"Not much." She allowed herself to lean against him, her initial hesitation easily dissolving with every breath. "Actually, I… I don't remember anything."

His frown intensified as he briefly pondered on the words that followed. "Would you like to?"

She swallowed hard, knowing what he was offering her, _dreading_ what he was offering her. She tried to sound brave when she asked, "Will you help me?"

His lips brushed against her temple, his breath hot on her skin. "Only if you want me to," he said, though his mild reluctance was palpable. "Just say the word."

She could not count the number of nights she'd lied in bed trying to remember her childhood, wondering if the images her brain had conjured up were real or just mere figments of her imagination. Her entire life she'd been waiting for someone to return, but in the monotony that comes with keeping track of an endless sequence of indistinguishable days, she had forgotten their faces, their motives, her own origins. Conflicted, Rey pressed her lips, her eyes focused on his as they held each other’s stare in the mirror, but no answer was forthcoming. The decision, after all, had to be hers.

In the end, temptation and curiosity got the better of her.

"Do it," Rey conceded. She was trying hard to keep her panic to a minimum.

Ren watched her reflection intently, giving her a chance to change her mind. When her defiant eyes challenged him to proceed, his free hand slowly lifted from where it had been resting on her hip to hover near the side of her face. A piercing pain drove through Rey's skull and she squeezed her eyes shut as the world around her spun out of control. Nausea began rising up from the pit of her stomach. A tight scream got lodged in her chest, desperate to find a release that never came forth.

_Don't fight it… Let it happen…_

Kylo Ren's voice swam through the oceans of her mind—a powerful, yet strangely soothing presence within her. His words allowed her to relax to some extent, and the agony became more bearable. She remembered to breathe and, before she realized what was happening, she turned from subject to observer.

_A village near the sea… Children playing… A tall man smiling down at her…_

The image began to fade and Ren probed deeper, making the excruciating pain in her brain more intense and causing her knees to buckle. A strong arm held her in place as the picture of a woman sharpened into focus, her face kind. Her eyes were not quite grey, not quite blue, and regarded her with such tenderness it made her want to cry.

_Mommy…_

_Rey…_

She had heard the voice in her dreams, had missed its timber ever since she could remember. It was all coming back to her now, her mother's smile, her unmistakable scent, the warmth behind her eyes… the Force ran through her, though she wasn't entirely sensitive to it.

_The girl must never be found..._

A group of elders surrounded her. They were looking at her like an unsolved riddle, like a problem that had to be handled. The desert dunes of Jakku appeared out of nowhere, and she heard herself screaming.

_No! Don't go!_

"NO!"

Rey woke up from the vision with a start. It took her a few seconds to notice the tears streaming down her face. She was slumped against Kylo Ren’s body, her entire weight practically supported by his embrace. Her heart was racing, in a panic, but also with indescribable longing for a life that was never hers to live.

"Why did you stop?" she accused through clenched teeth. "I need to see more!"

"That's enough for today," he told her.

The impassive finality behind his words irked her, and she squirmed in his arms to break free. "It's not your decision to make!"

"Yes it is!" he thundered pulling her tighter to him to stop her from thrashing further. "I can't do it!" he gritted through clenched teeth. 

Rey froze, let his words sink in. His chest was heaving against her back and, before her mind could grasp the reasoning behind his reluctance, she heard him whisper, "Please, don't ask me to do it again."

It was at that moment that she realized how much he had despised being the cause of her agony. She gradually relaxed in his arms and their gaze met in the mirror once again, guilt and remorse swimming in the dark pools of his eyes. He bit his lower lip, whether to keep his emotions under control or to stop himself from speaking his thoughts, Rey wasn't sure. She turned around in the loop of his arms, neither willing to break contact just yet, neither ready for the onslaught of emotions that washed over them like a tidal wave.

It was strange looking at the man without seeing the monster. At that moment, there was no Light, no Dark Side. There was only the magnetic energy of the Force flowing between them like an invisible hand that pulled them towards each other, an ancient spell neither had the right to break.

It was Rey who closed the distance first. Her lips touched his in a tentative kiss that lingered like a feather awaiting his acceptance. It took Ben a couple of seconds to acquiesce, allowing his eyes to drift shut as he followed her gentle lead. It was neither lust nor passion what found its inception in that kiss, but a deeper emotion much too terrifying to contemplate, at least when it came to their situation.

"Rey…" he breathed, pulling away just enough to break the kiss.

Her eyes blinked open in a sluggish haze. Slightly puzzled, she frowned up at him and saw him regarding her with a great deal of caution.

"We better find that generator and get out of here," he finally said. His voice was steady, yet his eyes belied a myriad of feelings she was too afraid to analyze.

She nodded in agreement, her silence speaking louder than any words could have. The moment was over and they had a job to do— _better focus on the task at hand_ , she forced herself to reason.

They rummaged through the place in relative silence, exchanging the occasional platitude to make the search more efficient until they hit the jackpot in a large storage room on the northern wing of the facility. There wasn't much to choose from, but they settled for a rusted unit that seemed to work at partial capacity. It was better than nothing. They would have to make do with what they found.

Impossible as it seemed when they first arrived, the storm had intensified during the time they had been scouting the gristmill. Powerful flashes of lightning struck way too close and way too frequently for comfort, the accompanying thunder deafening with every hit. They hauled the generator onto the speeder and secured it tightly to its haunch rack before taking off, rapidly cutting through the pouring rain.

They were just a few yards away from the hut when Kylo Ren slowed the speed racer down to a halt. Rey peeked over his shoulder, curious as to why he had decided to stop, and saw several tall figures lurking just outside the hut. It wasn't so much their presence what made Rey suddenly uneasy, but Ren's reaction to the group. She sensed it—the conflict within, his drumming heartbeat, his viral reticence...

"What is it?" she asked, almost unable to keep her eyes open against the rain. "Who are they?"

His response came low and loaded with wariness.

"The _Knights of Ren_."

**[TBC…]**


	15. The Failure of Words

Rey felt an icy chill crawling up her spine. The group of ominous, masked figures seemed to be frozen in place, their unfaltering focus on the speed racer—on Kylo Ren and on her. Only when a flash of lightning illuminated the ground around them, did she notice the bulk of four or five still bodies slain along the pathway. All canyon miners. All dead. A river of crimson mingled with the cold rain and flowed down a thin stream of muddy water, not that color could be discerned in the gloomy grayness of the landscape.

Another volt of bluish light cast further detail on the _Knights of Ren_ , and Rey noticed how one of them—one who by presence and stance stood out from the rest—was holding something in the hand that was not wielding a weapon. It took her brain a second to process what she had seen in the fraction of an instant the sky had illuminated the canyon. A mask.

_Kylo Ren's_ mask.

As far as she could determine it was an exact, if not a very close replica of the one she'd seen him wearing on their first encounter. She'd had nightmares about that mask, about the monster behind it, about everything it represented. Its signature was a clear sign of damnation.

The menacing figure extended his arm in their direction—an offering. It was a gesture of subordination, an unspoken show of respect in the presence of a superior rank. 

A call to their leader.

From a distance away, Ben stiffened, his heart thumping powerfully under the soaked, dark robe. Rey felt his hesitation, his wariness… his fear. And, though it only had lasted for barely a second, its intensity had pierced through her like a lance. To those not graced with the ability of force sensitivity, his inaction might have been interpreted as calculated indifference. But she knew better.

The speeder glided slowly towards the standing group of figures patiently awaiting instruction from their commander. Shakily, Rey dismounted the vehicle followed by Ben, who quietly accepted the grisly offer from what looked like his right hand man. His back still to her, the man she had known as Kylo Ren contemplated the iron cast helmet for a long moment before sliding it over his head, not a single word exchanged. The muffled sound of the sealing mechanism made Rey's throat tighten, and something unidentifiable shattered inside her chest.

_No!_

When he turned around to face her, blood seemed to freeze in her veins. She stared at the emotionless, metal surface of the mask, as familiar as it was terrifying. In all the years Rey had spent alone in Jakku, she had never felt as lonely as she did at that very instant. 

The moment seemed to stretch into infinity while her mind considered a handful of limited alternatives. She obviously didn't stand a chance in a fight against almost a dozen warriors, most likely duly trained in armed combat. Of course, she could also make a run for it. The speed racer had enough fuel to grant her a few miles up the canyon, though she doubted Ren would stand idle without botching her escape, and the nimble vehicle was no match to his dexterity with the Force.

She was still weighing her options when a desperate whimper emerged from the nearby hut, followed by a Knight of Ren dragging a terrified Nia out by the neck of her robe. He flung the girl as if she were a rag right in front of Kylo Ren, who simply looked down at the crying child attempting to crawl away from him over the sea of mud. Rey was already rushing to where she was when a series of angry growls echoed along the canyon and she noticed the herd of bulky, fast approaching monties hastening toward them. With barely enough time to grip her lightsaber and lighting it through the darkness, she managed to block a deathly strike from one of the Knights, saving Nia's life by a hairline. Frustrated by the boldness of her action, the masked figure turned his rage against Rey, who engaged in the fight as the jumble of canyon miners charged against the other intruders.

The unmistakable clatter of battle rose over the rain and the thunder, and she took on her adversary with fierce determination. Her saber struck the long, bi-pointed lance used by her adversary, which was clearly able to withstand the deathly heat of her own weapon. Rey knew instinctively she didn't stand a chance in the big scheme of things. Perhaps she might be able to take down this one warrior, but there were too many of them to delude herself into a semblance of victory.

A powerful blow in the aftermath of a swirl managed to slice through her enemy's arm and knock him to his knees, she raised her saber for one final strike and saw his beseeching motion, a final plea in total helplessness. For a moment she considered sparing his life, her heart tugging at some faint semblance of benevolence, but it didn't take her long to reconsider her decision.

_Never give into your enemy's weakness…_

It was fortunate that Rey was at the ready, had her guard come down she would have been impaled by the sharpness of his lance, which appeared out of nowhere, its aim straight at her jugular. She made a last minute turn, avoiding being pierced by the deadly weapon and bringing down her saber in one final strike that ripped her adversary almost in half. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Almost instantly, a second Knight of Ren took her on, and she clashed against him under the next flash of lightning. She was grateful for the hours of training that had allowed her to build up the sufficient stamina to keep up the fight. Still, it was mainly the adrenaline rush that kept her going. Exhaustion and fatigue was beginning to set in, and it might have been partly the cause of her momentary distraction when she heard Nia's chilling cry behind her. It was when she turned to look at the child that her lightsaber was knocked out of her hand, rolling into the mud several feet away.

Rey lost her footing and fell backwards, watching in horror how the masked figure poised himself to deliver his final blow. As his arm swung down to club her, a blinding, jagged red blade burst out through his chest, halting his movement mid-strike and killing him instantly.

_You fools, we need her alive!_

The heavy thud that was heard as the man fell to the ground marked the end of the battle. Rey took in her surroundings. A sea of massacred bodies plagued the murky grounds, silenced forever. Panting heavily, she focused on the group of people standing before her with Kylo Ren at its forefront, looking closely at her from behind the cold mask, his lightsaber the only source of color against the grayish landscape.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then one of the figures behind him spoke, a female voice distorted by the robotic sound of a helmet.

"The shuttles are ready for take-off, sir."

Ren tilted his head once in acknowledgement before turning back to Rey.

"Good. Take her on board."

His voice had the metallic quality of the soulless—detached and incorporeal. It was deep, distant, almost… _foreign_. When two strong hands lifted her from the ground she shrugged them off in one disdainful move.

"I can walk on my own!" she snarled in Ren's direction.

It was then when she saw Nia being held by another tall figure. She also fought fiercely against his grip, but her struggle was futile. Rey wondered about Mac, pondered whether he might have made it out of that place alive, but she knew that not to be the case. She could just _feel_ it.

"What about the girl?"

The deep voice that had asked the question came from the girl's captor. Before Rey could wrap her wits around begging for her life, Kylo Ren gave his final order.

"Put her on the ship. I'll hand her over to General Hux. She's at the right age to start training as a trooper."

About a mile down the canyon, near the place where Ben had spent hours in private meditation, four First Order shuttles, circuits ready and engines humming, awaited their boarding. Rey and Nia were led into the first one by two of the knights, followed by Kylo Ren. The rest spread out into the other three. In a matter of minutes everybody had taken their position and the shuttles took off one after the other.

During the rattling that took place as the ships broke atmo, Rey contemplated her situation, the uncertainty of her future, the misplacement of her trust… Her jaw tightened, refusing to give into despair. She had been in a similar situation before, and had managed to figure her way out of it. She was determined to keep a clear head and do what she had always done: survive. 

_But, what about Nia? What would become of her?_ Rey couldn’t afford to be consumed by concern. They’d cross that bridge when they got to it. 

In an instant, the rattling stopped and the shuttle felt weightless and utterly quiet. They had reached the tranquil reaches of space. The change in pressure was so tangible it was known to make some people giddy. The moment the shuttle's internal gravitational stabilizers blinked green, Kylo Ren stood from his seat and walked up to where Rey and Nia had been restrained.

"It will be a relatively short trip," he announced from under the mask. His voice was deep and steady, not giving away an ounce of emotion. "Just relax and enjoy the ride. We'll be jumping into hyperspace in a few moments."

"You bastard!" Rey spat, fighting against the restraints despite her better judgment.

Kylo Ren stooped before her, one knee to the floor, the other one bent to support his relaxed forearm. He appeared to be studying her like an insect, or something of even lesser consequence, the lack of expression shown by his mask was almost contemptuous. Her clothes were still wet from the rain. They stuck to her body like a second skin, uncomfortable and constricting, yet unworthy of her complaints.

When his hand moved up near her face, she recoiled like she had once done in the forests of Takodana. It was an involuntary reaction, one she corrected as soon as she grabbed a hold of her bravado, and she looked defiantly into the shiny metal reflecting her distorted image. 

_How could she have misplaced her trust so terribly?_

Moments later, she realized in horror how her surroundings began spinning out of control soon to fade into the background before absolute blackness claimed her into oblivion.

Her last feeling before succumbing to the darkness was desolation over her failure. 

_I’m so sorry, Han…_  
________________________________________  
Rey woke up weak and disoriented. For a second, she didn't know where she was or how she got there. But, then, everything came rushing back in one swooping memory.

_The canyon... The storm… The Knights of Ren… The shuttle…_

_She was once again Kylo Ren's prisoner…_

_But…_

She looked down at her wrists and ankles. They were free from any restraints. In fact, she was comfortably reclined in one of the crew's chairs. Her clothes were completely dry as was her hair. She had been woken by the noticeable rattling of the shuttle as it entered a planet's stratosphere. Turning her head, she discovered Nia lying peacefully on a chair beside her, stirring awake just as she herself had done moments before. There was no headache, no trace of the familiar pounding after having experienced a mind probe, no residual feeling at all.

The shuttle made its final descent with a gentle glide, touching down almost imperceptibly. Had it not been for the sound of engines fading into a low hum, Rey wouldn't have been able to tell they'd finally reached their destination. From the cockpit, she heard the deep cacophony she'd learn to recognize as Kylo Ren's voice.

"You will remain in the ship and await my return with the signal tracker turned off."

Two mellow voices, devoid of any emotion, repeated the order in unison like automatons.

"We will remain in the ship and await your return with the signal tracker turned off."

Confused, Rey watched Kylo Ren exit the cockpit, his massive size enhanced not just by the low ceiling of the ship itself, but the dark length of his full attire. He pushed the button that activated the down-ramp and a loud, swooshing sound marked the opening of the section of the ship as it sloped down, allowing the brightness of the planet's sun to seep into the cabin. But it was the smell what caught Rey's attention. She recognized the scent in the air almost immediately, her suspicions confirmed the moment she followed Ren outside into a place she had grown to consider her second home.

_D'Qar!_

They had landed on a mountaintop not far from where General Organa's Resistance base was located. Rey half walked, half stumbled to the edge of the hill where she could discern the military hangars a short hike away. She felt the welling of tears in her eyes. Nia had followed her to the spot and was looking down at the first signs of civilization she'd seen in over a year.

Stunned, Rey turned to Kylo Ren, who stood silent and motionless by the shuttle. She walked back to him with a trace of uncertainty, confused by the unexpected turn of events. The tightening in her throat intensified the closer she got to him, and almost prevented her to voice the simple question.

"Why?"

The voice behind the mask was soft, it floated around them as tender as it was inhuman.

"Even monsters can be brought down to their knees on occasion."

She half laughed, half sobbed at his reply. Wiping a stray tear from her face, Rey looked up at the metal piece covering his face.

"Let me see you," she said softly.

Ren hesitated for a second, but slowly pressed the button that unlatched the mechanism sealing the helmet shut, and slid it off at her request. His eyes, just like hers, glistened with unshed tears that he immediately willed away behind that troubled frown she had learned to find oddly captivating.

"Stay," she heard herself begging in a tight whisper.

He lowered his head and his lips curled into a bitter half smile. "You know I can't do that."

Deep down in her heart, she understood the impossibility of her request.

Rey witnessed a trail of his thoughts—an observer, not an intruder: images that language could never do any justice, feelings behind key moments, desperate cries, endless victims... Responsibility over so many lives lost, including Mac's. He remembered every person, every fear-struck face, every last beseeching word sputtered in terror or agony. A row of people of different species, genders and creeds showed themselves from beyond, most pointing an accusatory finger at their executioner, yet others… An old monk looked at him with kind eyes and, right beside him, Han Solo stood with a smirk of encouragement and understanding. When Ben lifted his head to meet her gaze, his eyes were haunted.

"Tell my mo—," he bit his lower lip, pondered his words for a moment. "Tell General Organa that I…"

But he was incapable of getting any coherent thought out, so he gave up with a deliberate shake of his head. Rey understood, and offered him a reassuring smile that faded almost the instant it had materialized.

Nia watched the whole exchange, enthralled by the rare display of emotion between the two. Ben's eyes traveled to her and she shied away, lowering her stare to the ground as if having been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do. He squatted down to her level and hooked a finger under her chin, gently forcing her to face him.

"Promise me you'll take care of this one, kid," he quipped, motioning towards Rey with a nod. "She tends to get into trouble."

A slow grin spread across the girl's face, and she nodded timidly. Ben reached into the inside pocket of his robe and produced a perfectly polished red stone.

"Maybe you can start a new collection," he said, handing her the gem. “Might still take you a while to—“ 

He was stunned into silence when the girl practically threw herself into his arms to hug him. Visibly uncomfortable, Ben simply frowned and patted her back as if she had some sort of easily spreadable contagious disease. He was about to extricate himself from the sudden embrace, when a thin, innocent voice pierced through his tough façade.

"Thank you."

Two simple words that hit him in the gut as hard as Chewacca's bow caster. He tightened his jaw and pulled away, standing up without saying a word. He cast a glance past them, to where the roofs of the hangars peeked over the edge of the low cliff, towards an illusion that might have been his future. It was Rey who eventually broke the prolonged silence.

"Snoke… Will you go back to him? Can’t you break free?"

"I don't remember a time when I wasn't seduced by the Dark Side," he told her. "For a while, in the canyon, I thought myself capable of finally breaking those chains. I was wrong. The Supreme Leader is back. I began sensing his presence again. Soon, it will consume me."

"He would come looking for you," Rey uttered, understanding the colossal risk.

"And for you," he said softly.

His eyes trailed down to her abdomen, his hand reaching out to linger over her midriff. Her own hand traveled up, instinctively protecting that area of her body where a small cluster of cells was giving way to a new life inside of her. Their eyes locked on their way up, no words or assurances necessary. They could feel both sides of the Force converging in the genetic buildup of their unborn child, one acting in perfect counterbalance to the other.

Tears were now streaming freely down her face. "I don't know if I can do this alone."

"You're stronger than you know," he said quietly. "Stronger than I ever was… And you won’t be alone."

"Ben, I—"

"Don't!" he hissed between clenched teeth, struggling to hold back the tsunami of emotions that assaulted him. "Please, Rey..." He let out a long sigh, barely able to keep from crumbling under the weight of the moment. "It will make things so much harder if I heard you say it."

Strangely, she understood. In the end, there was nothing left to say, really. Their eyes, their very _souls_ , had said it all already.

With a tight nod, Kylo Ren turned his back to her and walked into the shuttle without looking back. The engines roared to life a few seconds later, and the ship took off in a wave of fire, leaving a cloud of dust and smoke in its wake.  
Only after the shuttle had disappeared into the vastness of sky, did Rey fall to her knees, shoulders shaking as a series of sobs wracked her body.

**[TBE…]**


	16. Epilogue

_The eyes of a newborn gaped at the stars, curiosity and wisdom all rolled into one._

_It was a galaxy that had been familiar long ago and far away, yet there it was: a majestic scene to behold. One that could render the poet speechless and humble the boldest warrior. It had witnessed the rise and fall of empires, had withstood cataclysmic events, the cruelty of manmade weaponry and, through it all, had encompassed the power of an ancient energy for as long as time had existed._

_A prophecy, set in stone so long ago and fulfilled against all odds. The very fabric of the Force, rattled._

_Oblivious to its latent power, the newborn blinked and smiled up at the Universe, innocent and unafraid._

**[The End]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently working on the sequel. My idea is to turn this story into a trilogy, but that might be a bit ambitious. We'll see how it goes...


End file.
